Game Changer
by NaoChi-chu
Summary: For Naoki, life became meaningless the day her twin brother died. Chasing the connection she will never have and trying to find the self she had lost, Naoki started her journey to recovery. What she didn't expect though, is to form a bond with him. Walls crumble as two persons crippled by their past become pillars of each other's future. Miyuki X OC
1. Champions

_Middle school baseball, Nationals._

For Naoki, life became meaningless the day her twin brother died. She became a shell of her former self. Living but not truly alive.

Chasing the connection she will never have and trying to find the self she had lost.

A journey to recovery.

A play.

 _Seido High Baseball Team_

The perfect battery.

Something that is lost can never be found again...

 _But in its place, we'll create something new._

* * *

Champions

* * *

The sky is blue and the heat of the sun isn't as scorching as Naoki had thought. The wind feels cool too, and the way it blows wouldn't hinder her here.

Today is a good day.

Naoki gave one last longing look at the wide expanse above her. If only she's not short in time she would have lost herself to its beauty, unfortunately, at this moment she cannot dally.

This next move will determine their fate.

Naoki's eyes connected with his. He who is waiting on the diamond with a smirk and a sign.

 _"_ _Let's finish this!"_

Naoki smiled, loosening her shoulders and her grip on the ball.

Every person who had helped them, who had helped her flashes before her eyes.

 _For you._

Whoosh..

Pack!

"Strike! Batter Out!"

"Game set!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Note:** Hello! For those familiar with my other work "Indicium", my introduction of characters is still the same. But for others who aren't, this is my format:

[Last Name] [First Name]

Have fun reading this first chapter of Game Changer.

* * *

"Fujioka Naoki"

"Present" Naoki said while raising her hand for a bit. The teacher nodded in her direction.

"Watanabe H-"

Naoki closed her eyes to drown out the sounds and released a breath, feeling tired even though it's just the first period in the morning.

Someone poked her at the back.

Naoki slightly turned her head to the right and saw in her peripheral Misaki's grinning face.

"Good morning!" She whispered jovially with a twinkle in her eyes. Naoki gave her a small smile.

 _'_ _Not really…'_

"Morning" she replied back. Misaki frowned at her, noticing the tone she used.

Naoki ignored the questioning look Misaki gave her and returned her attention to the board.

Physically present but mentally absent.

This is Naoki's situation for the whole day, actually, for the past one and a half years. Always there but not really there. A fact the people around her had notice but couldn't act upon. Her classmates had labelled her a zombie because of this although they are not privy to the cause, only a few people. Her teachers had been told of the general situation but not the whole truth which is why though they tried, they couldn't fully understand her.

"I'm tired of living" Naoki muttered while eating her lunch with Misaki who continued chewing her food and ignoring her gloomy words. Naoki sighed when she didn't hear any response from Misaki.

"It's true you know.." She whispered as she hid her head under her arms.

She'd been able to hold on for more than a year but Naoki felt she's on a precipice, one wrong move and she might do something illogical.

 _"_ _Losing a twin brother could do that."_ she thought, reminiscing the past and willing the tears that never come whenever she thinks about him.

Naoki needs an outlet but nothing seems to inspire her anymore.

 _"_ _Naoko, I miss you.."_ she inwardly said and closed her eyes. She wants to sleep forever and dream a happy dream.

 _"_ _He's always there waiting for me.."_ her last thought as she descended to sleep.

* * *

Ping.

"Home run!" Naoki exclaimed on the mound. Naoko laughed and pumped his hand in the air.

"Yeah! I finally hit Kichi's pitch!" Naoko celebrated, dancing on the plate. Naoki pouted at him.

"Not fair! Let me bat as well. I've been pitching since this morning already" she shouted at him. Naoko gave her a grin. He opened his mouth to shout back at her.

"Hey you two, that's enough. Naoko, aren't you supposed to be resting? We have a game tomorrow" someone shouted on the fence.

"Eh, Maru, you're such a kill joy! I want to play more!" Naoki shouted right back at him. Naoko laughed again.

"Okay. I think that's enough for today Kichi." Naoko said, jogging to her place on the mound.

Naoki pouted again. She really wanted to bat since it's boring to just pitch.

"Kichi, don't be such a child. It's disgusting" Naoko lightly scolded as he ruffled her hair. He gave her a soft smile.

"Thanks for helping me practice today. Now, I feel even more confident for tomorrow's match."

"You should be. I'm the best, you know!" Naoki jokingly remarked. Naoko gave her a hearty laugh.

"Indeed you are"

* * *

"Naoki!" someone called loudly with a hint of panic in her voice and intensifying her shaking of Naoki's shoulders.

"W-what's wrong?" Naoki stuttered as she resurfaced from her deep sleep. She winced when she felt Misaki's fingernails digging in her shoulders. Misaki stopped when she finally noticed that Naoki is awake. She couldn't help the tears pooling in her eyes.

"Naoki!" she cried, hugging her tightly.

"What's wrong?" Naoki asks again, becoming worried that Misaki is losing her mind.

Naoki raises her hand to pull Misaki away from her but stop midway when she noticed that she's in the nurse's office.

"Why are we here, Misaki?" Naoki softly asks. The last scene she remembers before falling asleep was the view of the fields.

"Yo-you..I..ca-can't wake yo-you" Misaki tried to say in the midst of hiccupping. She let go of Naoki and wiped her tears away using her sleeves.

"What do you mean?" Naoki tilted her head to the side, confused. Before Misaki could answer, the door of the office slammed open showing her mother's worried face.

"Naoki" Her mother whispered.

"Are..are you okay?" she added. Naoki nodded.

"Do you know what the time is?" her mother asks, slowly walking to her direction.

"It's just after lunch, isn't it?" Naoki said while moving her head to find a clock. From what she remembered the last time she'd been here, the clock is located near the corner at the side window.

"It's 4:30 in the afternoon" Misaki said glancing at her and then looking down immediately.

"Oh, I've been sleeping for four hours huh. Misaki why didn't you wake me up?" Naoki said, frowning slightly.

Strange. She didn't realize she's that sleepy.

"I did but you didn't. I've been calling out to you but you only responded now" Misaki explained

"I…thought you were dead, Naoki"

* * *

 _"_ _I thought you were dead, Naoki"_

Naoki sat in their living room, waiting for her mother while Misaki's words continue to circle in her head. Her eyes found the picture frames beside the television. Most of them are taken with four people. Two males and two females.

Naoki stood from her position and went to a recently taken picture of the four of them. It was just after the prefectural game with their school being declared as the winner and the representative for the nationals.

She smiled bitterly, remembering that event as if it just happened yesterday.

It's funny how much happiness they exuded in this frame. All of them smiling brightly in the camera.

Naoki's eyes landed on Naoko's form. He was the happiest of them all.

Unfortunately, his momentum didn't last.

"Everything that happened that day was an accident" Naoki heard her mother's voice said behind her.

".. I know.." Naoki whispered. She knows it all too well. After all, she replayed the video of the said accident over and over again for the next succeeding days when the bad news reached her.

It was true. Everything that happened was an accident. No foul play.

He died because he was exactly on that same spot at exactly the same time.

"Then, what is happening Naoki?" Her mother asks.

"Why..w-hy are you fading a-way?" Her mother's voice broke. Naoki didn't turn to face her, knowing full well that if she did, she'll see her face streaming with silent tears. That is her mother's nature; loud when happy, quiet when sad, just like her.

"I..don't know.." Naoki trailed turning to the side to go back to the sofa, avoiding an eye contact with her mother. She sat with her knees up and she wrapped her arms around it.

"Nao-"

"Mother, help me.."

* * *

"Ah, coach Kataoka, there's someone looking for you" Rei said, approaching the coach who is observing the training of the players on the field. She halted beside him and crossed her arms.

"He looked desperate" Kataoka glanced at her in response to her statement. He gave her a nod, indicating she watched over them in his place. He walked to the direction of his office only to stop short at the entrance of the field.

"Fujioka Ren" Kataoka acknowledged while approaching the man standing just behind the fence and observing the practice.

"Yo, Tesshin" Ren greeted in return, giving him a strained smile.

Kataoka observed the man before him, noting the smile and the rumpled black hair.

"Looks like she didn't exaggerate when she said you looked desperate" Kataoka said, rubbing his chin.

Fujioka Ren, an alumnus of Seido as well as the former captain of the baseball team in their time, is a very close friend of Kataoka. Like him, Ren declined the offer of being a pro baseball player and had opted to fulfill his dream of being a lawyer.

"She really said that?"

Ren let out a chuckle and rubbed his neck.

"Looks like the current team is strong this year huh? Though not as strong as ours back then" he said with a bit of nostalgia in his one.

"They have their own strengths and I know they will do well this summer." Kataoka said, turning his head to the direction of the field. He returned his gaze to Ren who became serious as their eyes connected.

"Tesshin, can you do me a favor?"

Kataoka was taken aback with his question. It's the first time Ren had asked him a favor.

"It's about Naoki, isn't it?" Kataoka guessed, suddenly remembering the accident and connecting the dots with Ren's appearance and his words.

No matter how bad a situation is, Ren will always remain calm. The only thing that could shake his rock hard foundation is when it is connected with his family.

Ren sighed seemingly tired and nodded his head silently.

"Naoki…she needs help" Ren whispered but though it was low Kataoka still heard him.

"Why? What happened?"

"We..we are losing her"

Kataoka laid his hand on Ren's shoulder when his voice broke for a second, giving him a pillar to hold on to. Ren bowed his head.

"What can I do to help?" Kataoka asks firmly. Whatever it is, he is willing to help his friend and his godchild. Ren took another deep breath and straightened his back. There is determination in his eyes.

"Bring her back.."

Ren held his gaze for a long time.

"..with baseball"

Silence reigned between the two.

"Huh?"

"Baka! You have to say 'yes'!" Ren growled at Kataoka whose brow twitched.

"Are you sure you have a problem?" Kataoka said with a hint of suspicion.

"I'm serious Tesshin! I'm serious!" Ren cried.

There's one thing Kataoka had forgotten to remember, no not really, he just though Ren had outgrown this attitude of his: the tendency to think of bizarre solutions for normal problems.

"It's the perfect solution Tesshin. She lost Naoko in baseball then she must reconcile with his memory through baseball!" Ren rapidly explained with hands waving in the air.

"Aren't you just hurting her more Ren? She might break." Kataoka said. Ren stilled and lowered his hands.

"Tesshin, Naoki is not that fragile and I know for a fact that she still loves baseball. It's the sport that had help in deepening their bond as brother and sister." Ren released a sigh.

"Just..will you please just let her play here?" Ren begged.

"Why here?"

"Because for those two, baseball started here.."

Kataoka sighed then smirked a little at the thought of Naoki in the team. She would probably shock them all.

"Well, I'm always looking for good players."

Ren beamed at him when he heard Kataoka said those words.

"Thanks man. I owe you big time."

"Then I'll be expecting her by next week."

* * *

"So he said" Ren smiled after giving his conclusion to Naoki who just stared at him on the sofa.

"I'll be in Seido?" Naoki asked quietly for confirmation. Ren blinked at her and felt an ache in his heart.

His baby girl is not reacting to his announcement.

 _"_ _Another thing to add to the growing list called 'Naoki is not herself when..' huh?"_ he thought with a sigh, giving Naoki a nod.

"…and I'll be playing baseball?" she added with a sigh of her own.

Ren stifled the hope that fluttered on his chest. Was that annoyance?

His baby girl is showing a bit of spice. Could it be she's looking forward to playing baseball again?

"Naoki-chan it'll be hard though. You haven't been playing for more than a year after Naoko's death so I bet you'll be rusty" Ren said but froze, realizing his mistake. He opened his mouth to take back his words when Naoki smiled a little.

"Father, it's fine. You don't have to watch your words. I've already accepted his death. Right now, I just want to find myself again." Naoki said and giving him a peck on his cheek.

"I'll be returning in my room, father"

Ren gave her a smile and watched her retreat.

His baby girl is trying to be strong.

Although Ren believed that Naoki believed in her words, he knows it's not entirely true. She is trying to put her broken self together but how can you do that when the pieces themselves are missing?

The path she had traversed with her twin is blocked by a wall and Naoko, the one person she had always relied upon to be her pillar is forever out of her reach. Now she must find a way to overcome it.

By herself.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Daiya no Ace/ Ace of Diamond. I only own the characters not found in the anime.


	3. Chapter 2

"Seido is big" Naoki whispered in the car. Her father nodded at the front as they arrived. He parked the car and got out first then opened the door at the back seat and smiled at her.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine here since I arranged for you to stay in the Seido Spirit Dorm."

 _"_ _Seido Spirit Dorm? What's that?"_ Naoki asks herself.

"Wah!" Naoki glanced up upon hearing her father's gasp of horror.

"Mamoru! What are you doing? Now, Naoki's clothes are full of your fur!" Ren scolded at the pure white Samoyed laying comfortably on Naoki's lap.

Mamoru raised his head slightly and gave him a short yip then returned to nuzzling her hands when she stopped petting him.

Naoki laughed lightly at her father's frown.

"Mamo, up" she softly commanded at the dog. He obeyed and jumped out of the car, his collar tinkling for a bit.

"See! Your new uniform is ruined!" Ren said in an indignant pout, putting his hands on his hips.

Naoki slid out of the car and took a deep breath, taking on the atmosphere of the huge institution.

Today is her first day as a transfer student in Seido High School and Naoki admits that she is somewhat feeling nervous in this new environment. Not only that, she'll be far away from home and will be staying in a dorm too.

"Good morning, Fujioka-san" Rei greeted as she approached them. Naoki gave the stranger before her a passing glance, assuming it was her father she was talking to.

"Ah, Takashima-san. Thank you for meeting us here."

"It's my pleasure, sir."

"Naoki, this is Takashima Rei, assistant director and recruiter of the baseball team." Ren introduced. Naoki bowed her head in response. Rei smiled.

"I've also been assigned by the school to be your guide for today, miss Fujioka and later as well." Rei explained politely.

"Which reminds me. Classes are starting already, right? You should go now, Naoki" her father said softly, laying a hand on her back and pushing lightly.

"I'll take care of your things…and Mamoru. So don't worry, okay?"

"I'm not worried"

Ren laughed at her statement and ruffled her hair.

"That's my girl"

Naoki smiled at his endearing tone.

"This way, Fujioka-san" Rei said moving her hand in the direction of the school entrance.

"Hmm…bye.."

Naoki left one last lingering look at her father standing beside the car and the prospect of running away before facing ahead.

Taking a step forward and then another, Naoki suddenly felt a pang in her chest and a sliver of fear. This move of hers, will this be her salvation or a journey fated to be a failure?

 _"_ _Will I finally attain the strength that would help me face every day knowing you're gone? Or will this be just another reminder that I can't live without you?"_ Naoki thought as she followed Rei into the school building.

* * *

"So in order to get the-"

The teacher stops mid-explanation when three knocks were heard and the class' attention shifted as the door slid open.

 _"_ _Rei-chan?"_ Miyuki Kazuya thought in surprise, not expecting her presence. She entered the room accompanied by a curly black haired girl wearing their school uniform, her loose braid swooshing from side to side.

 _"_ _A transfer student?"_ He thought while observing the female. A girl of medium height with a slight tan, she shows a certain grace Kazuya had come to associate with dancers especially those who had been groomed from a young age. She would have been what you'd call as a beauty if not for those eyes.

 _"_ _Like Chris-senpai back then.."_ Kazuya narrowed his eyes on the girl. Looks like she had lost something precious to her.

"Ah, is it her Takashima-san?" The teacher asks in confirmation. Before class started, they were already notified of her arrival although it wasn't clear what time she'll arrive at the school.

"Yes, Hino-san. Well, I'll be going Fujioka-chan" Rei said, giving her a smile and a nod. Naoki returned the gesture with a bow.

"Thank you for the information and the advice, Takashima-sensei" Naoki said quietly as Rei left the room.

"Everyone, we have a transfer student. Will you please introduce yourself?" The teacher asked politely with a gentle smile. Naoki gave him a nod.

Naoki turned to the class and tried to summon a genuine smile.

"Good morning. I am Fujioka Naoki and from this day onward, I'll be staying here in Seido High School. I hope we will get along well." She finished with a slight bow while releasing a sigh.

 _"_ _Smiling is so tiring.."_ she thought then heard the whispers.

"Naoki?"

Giggles.

"-boy's name?"

She ignored them and stood straight. She forced her eyes to stare at the back only for it to stray to a boy wearing glasses and sitting near the window. He was smirking at her.

"Hmm, it seems we only have one vacant seat Fujioka-san. Miyuki!" the teacher called and the smirking boy raised his hand with a wide grin.

"Hai hai" He replied in a cheerful tone.

"Fujioka-san, you'll be sitting behind that man" The teacher directed.

Naoki gave him a nod and proceeded to the place he pointed.

"Okay, now where was I?"

She sat on her designated seat and laid her bag on the hanger beside the table. At the same time the smirking boy -Miyuki- turned to face her.

"Hi! My name is Miyuki Kazuya, nice to meet you Fujioka-chan" He introduced while offering his hand. She nodded at him and shook it.

 _"_ _Rough and hard hands.."_ she observed as their hands rubbed. Miyuki gave her one last grin before facing the front.

 _"_ _Broad shoulders…tanned skin"_ she noted as he started writing in his notebook. His uniform stretched showing his biceps while he continues to take notes. Her eyes lowered.

 _"_ _Hmm…those thighs.."_ then something caught her eye on his table just under his notebook.

 _"_ _A scorebook of….."_

"Baseball huh? Probably a catcher" Naoki absentmindedly said forgetting that she's in the class. Fortunately, it didn't garner an attention from the teacher but it was loud enough that Kazuya stiffened in his seat after hearing it.

 _"_ _Observant eh? Interesting"_ Kazuya smirked, interest piqued at the woman behind him who, from the sound she's making, is also taking down notes.

"Miyuki, can you tell me what's funny over there?"

"Aah hahaha. It's nothing sensei.."

"Hmph!"

Naoki's lips twitched at the exchange and she watched as the teacher sent a frown to Miyuki while he rubs his neck.

Thinking of baseball, Naoki suddenly realized she does not know anything about Seido's baseball team and its performance. She should have because she'll be joining the team as a practice player in the first string according to what Takashima-san said to her on the way to her classroom. She'll also be joining the team two days prior to their summer camp.

 _"_ _Ah-ah, and I haven't been practicing for a year and a half. I will probably embarrass myself in front of them."_ She silently grumbled, propping her chin as she thought.

 _"_ _Uncle Tesshin will most likely be mad at me but I guess it would be fun learning all over again"_ Naoki released a soft smile as she thought of possible scenarios that would happen.

Unbeknownst to Naoki, starting from that day on her once glazed eyes starts to clear, showing a sparkle that will ultimately rekindle the nearly dying fire inside of her.

She is slowly finding a will to live again.

Naoki stared at the wide blue sky outside and sent a thought to heaven.

 _"_ _Naoko, I'll be playing baseball again."_

* * *

"Ahm, do we always have a dog here?" Haruichi asks, stopping and pointing at a dog laying on the doorstep of a room in the far corner of the Seido Spirit Dorm. Eijun tilted his head in the direction he is pointing.

"Wah! A dog!" he exclaimed and sprinted to the dog.

"Wait. Eijun-kun!" Haruichi shouted at his back while following him.

 _"_ _Practice is starting soon.."_ he wanted to say but held himself seeing Eijun jumping excitedly as he nears the dog.

 _"_ _Anyway, I didn't know they allowed pets here"_ he silently thought slowing to a halt behind Eijun.

"It's so white and fluffy!" Eijun said with sparkles in his eyes. The dog raised his head to inspect the newcomer. Finding him annoying, he returned to his previous position and ignored Eijun.

"Come here little doggy.." Eijun called and offering a hand to entice the dog to notice him. He ignored him.

"Come on, come on.."

Ignore.

 _"_ _Ah, Eijun-kun's being ignored"_ Haruichi thought trying to suppress a laugh.

Eijun's vein popped as the dog continues to ignore him.

"Hey you doggy-"

"His name is Mamoru" Satoru cut Eijun's impolite call to the dog as he approached the two carrying a small bag containing biscuits.

Hearing Satoru's voice, Mamoru's ears perked and he stood to greet him. His mouth opened giving him what dog lovers fondly calls as the Sammy smile. Satoru gave him a small smile of his own before crouching down and giving him a pat in the head.

"What?! Furuya you-you.." Eijun gasped loudly while pointing an accusing finger at Satoru.

"Is he yours Furuya-kun?" Haruichi asks while Satoru put a biscuit on the ground. Mamoru ate it. Satoru faced him.

"No" Satoru said as he observes Mamoru eat. He found the dog on his way to the field after he had changed into his baseball uniform. He wouldn't have found him if Mamoru didn't bark at him to call his attention.

 _"_ _He looked kind of lonely too or maybe bored?"_ he thought.

"Then why did he allow you to pet him and why do you know his name?" Eijun said, pointing a finger at him again. Satoru just stared at him, not in the least bit in the mood to point out the obvious.

"Ah, Eijun-kun, he has a collar" Haruichi pointed at Mamoru's neck which stated his name and after that pointed at a hanging block at the side of the door.

"Oh. Fujioka Naoki. Wait! Why is it he's the only one here?" Eijun asked, scratching his head.

"Oi, first years what are you doing over there? Practice is starting." Someone called from the gate. The three snapped into attention and remembered that indeed they have practice.

"I almost forgot!" Eijun said shocked. Haruichi and Satoru gave him a curious look but Eijun didn't notice it. He is lost in thought.

 _"_ _I have to get stronger!"_

* * *

 _"_ _Stronger…I have to do everything I can right now"_ Eijun thought with conviction while running in the field dragging a tire on his hips.

"I can't lose! Not to myself and not to baseball!" Kazuya turns to the field as he heard Eijun's loud declaration. He smirked.

"Let's go! Ten more!"

"Hahaha, looks like you were worried for nothing. He's even more motivated than ever." Kazuya said beside Youichi who was furrowing his brows at Eijun.

"Tch."

"It would be a problem if he wasn't" Kazuya and Youichi turned to the voice. It was Chris.

"Always having a positive attitude, that is his strongest quality" Chris added as he stopped before them and watched Eijun.

"But he's going a bit overboard. There's still a plethora of things he needs to learn. We need to keep him on a leash, or he'll push himself until he breaks." Chris said hand on his hips.

"Absolutely. He's too stupid to know how to hold back" Kazuya agreed wholeheartedly while Youichi grins at the prospect of Eijun on a leash.

"Yeah. He's an idiot who can't hold back"

"Nyahaha, is that supposed to be a compliment?" Youichi laughingly asks.

"Chris, Miyuki and Yuuki" coach Kataoka called near the dug-out. The shared a glance before jogging to the position of the coach.

"I'll be announcing this after practice but I'd like for you three to know beforehand." Coach Kataoka started, staring at the three.

"There will be another player in the baseball team and will be on the first string."

The three's eyes widened in surprise.

 _"_ _A completely new player?"_ Kazuya asks inwardly, staring at the coach.

Oota and Rei stood behind him, unsurprised by his announcement.

"This player will not be in the official registry of the team for the summer tournament but I know without a doubt that this person's skills meet the requirements for the first string." Kataoka explained, seeing the confused looks on the players' faces.

"I know there will be a commotion over this and protests especially on the part of the second string. My decision is final therefore I want you to understand and accept this first." Kataoka continued, staring at each of them eye-to-eye.

"Coach, why is he only entering the team now?" Chris asked. Kataoka closed his eyes contemplating how much information to disclose.

"It's a special case. That's all." Kataoka said vaguely.

In the end, he'd decided to let the players discover what the special case will be about. Although by being vague, he had set Naoki on a perilous path for even though he had given a heads up to the pillars of the team, by not clarifying that the new member is a _girl,_ it will still create a huge impact.

"Is it okay not to tell the three about the gender, coach?" Oota asks worriedly as the trio returned to their respective areas. He is the club president of the baseball team but he doesn't have any objections to Kataoka's plan, contrary to that, he's quite elated that there will be woman playing on the team.

 _"_ _It's a pity she cannot play in official matches; we could have gotten a lot of publicity on her too."_

"Coach" Rei said approaching Kataoka.

"You said that she meets the requirements of a first string member but you also said to us that she hadn't been playing for one and a half years. Will this be a problem for her?" Rei continued, feeling worried as well on Naoki's part. She's a woman after all so she must protect a sister in any way she could, including not letting the boys bully her.

"She'll be rusty at first but it wouldn't be obvious to them." Kataoka explained remembering the Naoki he knew.

 _"_ _She also hates to lose"_ he silently added.

So he knew she will do everything in her power to return to her former self, well that is if she'll be motivated enough by this team to do so. If not, then Ren's plan will be a failure. She will continue to be a living dead, slowly fading away. But if ever the team becomes her new foundation then Kataoka knew, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Naoki finished the final papers needed for her full transfer at the school so it was nearly dark out when she got out of the office. She glanced at her watch. The baseball practice will finish in a few minutes so she has to hurry back. She will be introduced by that time.

Naoki paused on a window, seeing her reflection. She faced it and fixed her attire as well as her hair. Suddenly, she felt conscious of her clothes. She'll be facing the baseball team in her skirt while they are wearing their uniforms.

 _"_ _Not to mention, he might be there"_

Miyuki Kazuya, her classmate and catcher.

Naoki gave one last look at herself and took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's do this!"

She walked with determined steps and into the direction of the baseball field.

* * *

"Line up!"

 _"_ _Now, who is this new member?"_ Kazuya thought excitedly as they all went to their respective positions. At the front of the organized crowd is coach Kataoka while behind him are Oota and Rei.

"The day after tomorrow is the start of the summer camp. I trust that all of you had prepared yourselves. But before that, I have an important announcement."

 _"_ _Here it comes"_ Kazuya thought with a grin. He admits he doesn't know what the coach is up to, adding a new member when it's nearly the summer camp but he couldn't dismiss the coach's high praise of the player. If he's good enough to earn the first string title without any tests, then Kazuya is really interested. Although there's one thing he is also interested: the player's identity. He noticed the way the coach referred to the player in third person and not using the male person 'he' in his explanation.

"We will have a new member on the baseball team and will be playing in the first string"

Kazuya narrowed his eyes.

 _"_ _Third person again."_ He glanced at the side and connected with Chris' eyes. He noticed it too.

All at once, the field became filled with noise. Questions and gasps were heard in unison.

"—second string?"

"What..mean..new?"

"—first string?"

"Eeeh!" this last came from Eijun who had completely focused on the latter part of the coach's words. He shoots a glance to Chris standing at the sidelines as he entertained the idea of him entering the first string.

"He said new member" Haruichi said beside Eijun, feeling his restlessness.

"Huh?" Eijun gave him a confused look.

"It means he's not from the second string, Eijun-kun" Haruichi explained and felt guilty when he saw Eijun's disappointed expression.

 _"_ _Maybe that Fujioka is the new member?"_ he added as he remembered what happened earlier.

* * *

"Excuse me. Are they finished?"

Haruno looked up from her position after hearing those words. She opened her mouth to reply but froze when she saw the lady tilted her head at her.

"Y-yes. The coach is just having a short announcement" she stammered. The lady smiled and thanked her. Haruno saw her enter the field.

"Does she have a business with one of the players?" she asks aloud.

* * *

"…will be playing on the first string" Naoki heard the tail end of the announcement. She stopped just behind the dug-out, feeling cold. She could still run and get away from this place. She will not have to face them. She will not have to play baseball again.

 _"_ _Naoki, don't be a coward!"_ she scolded herself and took a deep breath. She stepped away from her hiding place and started walking with her head held high.

The players are confused, this Kazuya surmised. It's a good thing he'd been told in advance about this or else things might have become hard to handle for the coach. Already the people surrounding him are calming down seeing that their captain, him, and Chris are not panicking.

Kazuya's attention shifted as he detected movement at the entrance of the field. His eyes landed on a girl wearing their school uniform; the transfer student, Fujioka Naoki.

 _"_ _Hmm..what is she doing here?"_ Kazuya asks bewildered.

One by one, the players noticed the approaching figure and they too started asking who she is and what she's doing in the field.

It was Rei's expression that clued him in. It was like she was expecting the girl then their eyes connected and Rei smiled.

 _"_ _Don't tell me?!"_ Kazuya's eyes widened as the thought dawned to him.

"Everyone, this is Fujioka Naoki, your new teammate"


	4. Chapter 3

**First, let me explain the nomenclature:**

 **In Japan, Naoko is a** ** _girl's_** **name while Naoki is a** ** _boy's_** **name.**

 **Our heroine's name is Naoki so the people who hadn't meet her thought she's a he. Of course, as you've read at the previous chapter, it was quite a surprise.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Naoki woke up with a jolt, feeling something wet on her hand. She glanced down and saw Mamoru's face and wet nose near her bed.

"Mamo?" She tilted her head confusedly. Mamoru started whining and walking in a circle before her, showing his unease and pent up energy. He wants to go outside and do some exercise. Her head turned to the window and saw the droplets hitting the crystal.

It's raining.

Naoki sighed and went back to her bed. She buried her head on the pillow as she remembered what happened yesterday. As she had thought, there's a lot of disagreement when she was introduced but she didn't realize that the problem was because she is a girl.

"And I thought it was because I'm unqualified to be in the first string.." she whispered to herself. It didn't help that she retaliated with scathing words to the first person who pointed out her gender in her face. He probably just exclaimed it in surprise.

 _"_ _Idiot Naoki! Not only do you have to face their sexist mentality, you also gave a bad and conceited first impression."_ She sighed again.

Mamoru barked at her.

"Yes, Mamo?" she lazily asks as she turns her head in his direction. He barked again and then another and another. She let out a sigh when he continued his barking. It's a good thing she's the only one staying in this room or else someone may have already reported the noise and kicked her out.

"Okay, okay. I'll just change my clothes and we'll do some exercise." Naoki grumbled as she begrudgingly stood from her bed and went to her cabinet to change into her workout clothes. According to Rei, the club has an indoor practice ground inside the Seido Spirit Dorm.

"Mamo" she called with a whistle while opening her door. Mamo won't stray far from her so there is no danger in letting him roam and exercise without a leash. She ruffled his fur as they walked together to the building Rei pointed to her yesterday.

Naoki heard laughter and a lot of noise coming from the building as they neared. She stops just outside its entrance to see the occupants.

 _"_ _He's here"_ she thought as her eyes landed on Miyuki Kazuya's back. He was talking to a tall poker-faced guy and it seems the previous laugh she heard came from him.

"Wah! The dog!" Naoki heard someone shouted inside. She whips her head to the source and saw a brown-haired guy pointing at Mamoru. He was also the same guy who yelled at her yesterday. The noise died down as the rest finally noticed her presence after glancing at the dog.

"Ah! The onna!" Eijun exclaimed again after noticing her in the doorway. Then he paled as he remembers her aura when he shouted the same tone at her the previous day.

"Fujioka-san, ah, it's nice to see you. Are you practicing here too?" Chris politely asks with a smile while Kazuya stared at her. He couldn't help but smirk a little at her unease being the center of attention again.

He really hadn't expected that she's the new member of the team. Not only that but the spunk she demonstrated yesterday was an eye-opener for him. He thought he'd deduced her character as that of a mellow or melancholic and reserved lady, he was wrong. She was totally different from Kazuya's expectations.

 _"_ _Hey idiot. What are you? Sexist? Just because I'm a woman that doesn't mean I cannot play. Hmph, if you ask me, I'm much more capable a player than all of you combined." Naoki said with one hand on her hips and eyes narrowed as she stared at Eijun with blazing eyes._

 _"_ _You're not a dead girl, after all"_ Miyuki thought with a smirk while Naoki entered the building with her snow-colored dog.

"Um, I'm sorry but I don't know all of you." Naoki said as she neared them. When Mamoru saw Satoru he lolled his tongue and trotted to his side, wanting a pat. Naoki just watched him go.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of her and took her hand. It was an olive-spiked haired boy with a large grin on his face.

"Hi! I'm Kuramochi Youichi, shortstop and also your classmate!" he said with a bit of suave.

"Ahahaha Kuramochi, trying to flirt eh?" Kazuya laughed at the side as he witnessed Youichi's attempts at being charming. Youichi glared as Naoki's gaze turned to him.

"Yo! Fujioka-chan, you already know me and you guessed it right. I'm a catcher" Kazuya said with a grin.

 _"_ _Oh, he heard me.."_ Naoki thought, starting to redden when she realized he had heard her talk out loud.

"Takigawa Chris Yuu, manager" Chris said softly but firmly. Then he gestures to the other players, introducing them himself.

The large guy, Masuko Tohru, third baseman.

The small pink-haired, Kominato Haruichi.

The nearly shaved haired guy, Maezono Kenta.

The tall stoic near Kazuya, Furuya Satoru, pitcher.

"Sawamura Eijun! I apologize for my disrespect yesterday. I vow to never again take for granted the female species especially in team sports!" Eijun declared with a low and stiff bow. Naoki blinked in surprise, not expecting his action and his apology.

"Oi, Sawamura! What are you doing? You're making her uncomfortable!" Youichi shouted with a smack on Eijun's head. Eijun glared at Youichi and opened his mouth to shout when they heard an audible 'pfft'. They whipped their heads in Naoki's direction who is trying to suppress a laugh. After a few seconds she calmed down.

"Well, if you realized your mistake then there's no need for me to hold a grudge, isn't it?" she said with a growing smile.

"Nice to meet you everyone" Naoki said, feeling a growing warmth in her heart.

Kazuya's eyes widened and his smirk disappeared when he saw her beautiful smile. His heart skipped a beat and his mouth parted a little. His ears started ringing and blood started running hotly in his body. He gulped as he felt the sweat forming and flowing slowly down his forehead, his neck, and his back.

Satoru noticed the suddenly quiet Kazuya while the others approached Naoki, mainly Eijun, and asks her what she's doing and how cool that she has a dog here at the dorm -Eijun-. He saw the deep and rapid breathing of Kazuya as he stared at Naoki. The indistinct tremble of his hands as it slackened from its previous position on his hips. Satoru tilted his head, observing and switching his gaze between the two.

 _"_ _Miyuki-senpai likes Fujioka-senpai?"_ he thought and then a moment later, he felt a wet nuzzle on his hand. It was Mamoru. Just like that, he switched his attention from Kazuya to the dog and started petting him.

 _"_ _Polar bear.."_ he thought, once again reminded why he's so taken with the dog from the start.

"Fujioka-senpai, what position are you playing?" Eijun asks excitedly in front of Naoki.

"Ahm..I'm not really sure what position the coach will put me to but I'm good with almost any position" Naoki said with a smile. This caused Kazuya to snap into attention.

 _"Any_ _huh? And she said it with confidence too"_ Kazuya thought, crossing his arms on his chest when a plan started forming in his head.

 _"_ _Let's see your skills"_

"Well _,_ Fujioka-san if that is so can you help us? We're just starting to train our pitchers here you see. I think it would be a valuable experience for the two to see a veteran play. You are good at anything, right?" Kazuya said with a wide smile. Chris gave him a nod.

"Miyuki is right. It would really be helpful, Fujioka-san and I admit I'm curious of your play." Chris said to her. Naoki scratches her neck.

"S-sure, but I still have to do some exercise with Mamoru before I can join you. If you're willing to wait, I would be very grateful" Naoki said with a bow and a smile.

"Exercise? How do you do that?" Eijun asks curiously as he neared the dog. Mamoru ignored him again.

"Just running since it's raining today." Naoki replied before whistling to Mamoru. Mamoru's ears perked up and he ran to her.

"Woah! I'd like to do that too!" Eijun shouted, amazed that the dog obeyed a command with just a whistle. Someone smacked him the back.

"Aw! What's that for?" Eijun grumbled as Youichi laughed at him.

"Idiot! You have to practice."

Naoki smiled, hearing Youichi scold Eijun while joining Mamoru in running around the building. Mamoru barked at her and increased his speed.

"Hey Mamo, wait up!" She laughingly called at the dog who is leaving her behind.

Kazuya observed them from afar and noted the state of her body. In her running shorts, her legs look well-conditioned and she's also running without breaking a sweat after a significant amount of time.

"Looks like she has stamina, Miyuki" Chris said beside him. Kazuya glanced at him.

"Yes but stamina alone will not define her capabilities as a player." Kazuya said returning his gaze to Naoki.

"Well, the coach did say she's a special case. More importantly Miyuki, I noticed you've been keeping your eyes on her the moment she stepped inside." Chris said teasingly which caused Kazuya to be flustered, being caught off guard with the statement.

"W-what are you saying Chris-senpai?" Kazuya stammered beside him as his ears reddened. Chris' lips twitched, seeing Kazuya's expression. He put his hands on his pockets.

"Nothing. Just giving an observation, that's all"

In the midst of it, Kazuya tries to calm his nerves and to summon his cool. By the time Naoki deemed her run finished and went to Chris' position, Kazuya is back to his grinning composition.

"Chris-senpai, she's very interesting so I'm excited to know more about her" Kazuya reasoned as Naoki neared them. She gave a command to Mamoru to rest before facing them.

"Thank you for waiting! I'm yours for the day!" Naoki said cheerfully in front of the two. Chris smiled at her.

"Fujioka-san, I'd like for you to play catcher for Furuya-kun"

Kazuya nods in agreement finding Chris-senpai's assignment a good one. In the Seido team no one can compete with Furuya in terms of strength in pitching so it would be a nice test to measure her abilities.

"Furuya, Fujioka-chan will be catching your pitch next" Kazuya shouted at the group on the other side.

"Hah? Are you insane Miyuki? I can barely catch Furuya's pitch and it hurts like hell too" Youichi complained after he shook the hand he'd been using in catching Satoru's pitch.

"It's fine Kuramochi-kun. I can handle it" Naoki reassured confidently as she strapped the mitt onto her hand and the head guard on her face.

"Well then, Furuya-kun, don't hold back just because I'm a girl, okay?" Naoki said lightly while moving in place. Her eyes connected with Satoru.

 _"_ _Don't you dare hold back on me"_ Satoru felt Naoki's message in the look she sent to him. He inadvertently gulped and gave her a nod.

At the sidelines, Kazuya observed Naoki's form.

"Kyahahaha. I don't know why but this is so exciting" Youichi said beside him. Kazuya smirked at his statement. He couldn't deny the fact that he is also interested seeing that Naoki looks like she really knows what she's doing. This is the first time he'll be witnessing a girl playing as a catcher.

The others around the building paused in their own practice to observe the spectacle happening before them.

Naoki took a deep breath as she faced Satoru, she gave him a nod while positioning her mitt. She observed Satoru's form, the pull of his hand, and the throw of the ball in slow motion.

 _"_ _Fastball. Heavy."_ She concluded the moment he let go of the ball.

 _"_ _This is easy"_ she added as she noted the direction of the ball.

Pwack!

Everyone in the room was speechless after hearing the resounding impact, seeing that Naoki had fully received the ball in her mitt without moving an inch from her position.

"Woah!"

Naoki smiled as she took off her head gear while Satoru stood slack-jawed. She stared at the ball in her mitt then she turned her head in Satoru's direction.

"Furuya-kun, nice ball."

Furuya blushed at her compliment.

"But frankly speaking, I could hit a home run out of that" Naoki said staring at him seriously. The rest quieted after hearing her words.

"You need ball control in order to avoid that. Not only that, you have to develop stamina too because if you continue such a consistent force throughout the game, it can easily cause you fatigue" she lectured in front of Satoru who miraculously seems to listen to her words.

 _"_ _Hey, what just happened? And why are you listening to her?"_ Kazuya thought with mouth wide open after witnessing Naoki's interaction with Satoru. Then laughter bubbled inside him.

"Ahaha, see Furuya even Fujioka-chan knows your weakness, ahahaha" Kazuya laughed helplessly while Satoru sent him a glare.

"A-amazing! Fujioka-senpai, catch mine too!" Eijun shouted as he ran to Naoki's side.

Youichi whistled beside Kazuya while his laughter died down. Chris smiled behind them. This show of ability by Naoki cemented her place in the team. No matter how many questions and second thoughts they had entertained before witnessing this, it is now clear to all of them that Naoki is more than capable of surviving in Seido.

"Fujioka-senpai, catch mine!" Eijun exuberantly called.

"Sawamura, we still have to work on your form."

"H-hai, Chris-senpai!"

* * *

"Oh, it's her"

"I thought it was a joke!"

"She's really in the first string..."

Naoki heard the whispers but did not mind them. She ran to coach Kataoka's place.

"Ah, Naoki. I'd like to see your present condition. Go practice at the batter's box and then proceed to fielding. I'd also like to see your pitching form." Coach Kataoka said in front of her, she nodded.

"I will be evaluating them so do it properly" Kataoka said seriously, staring at her straight in the eyes. Naoki visibly shivered in fear.

 _"_ _Uncle Tesshin is so scary. Damn, I was planning on laying low today too"_ she thought with a sigh.

"Tetsu, I leave her in your hands" Kataoka said to a dark-skinned man with perpetually furrowed brows.

"Yuuki Tetsuya, team captain" He introduced as he started jogging to the area where the batters practice. She gave him a nod.

"You will bat after Isashiki" He said pointing to a guy in the middle of the three batter's boxes.

"Huh? You want to try batting?" Isashiki said in a growl as he walked out of his box with the bat on his shoulder.

Naoki ignored him and prepared herself on the box. She noticed Tohru looking at her with a hint of worry. She gave him a smile.

"Good morning, Masuko-san" she greets as she tightens her hold on her bat. Tohru nodded at her and resumed his practice. Naoki didn't know the name of her pitcher, nonetheless, she gave him a smile and a nod, indicating she's prepared.

Isashiki watched in the sidelines as the new member readied herself.

 _"_ _Damn, but she has a good form"_ Isashiki begrudgingly admitted while Tetsuya stood beside him. They trained their eyes on her.

Ping.

"What?!"

"Good.."

Isashiki and Tetsuya said, respectively.

"Woah! It's over the fence!" the fielders shouted and exclaimed as they tried to chase the ball only for it to hit the screens above the fence.

Naoki hummed when the ball went long and praised herself.

 _"_ _Looks like I haven't lost my touch..although that one felt awkward on my hips."_

"Another please" she said to the pitcher.

* * *

"Aah! Another home run! That's three consecutive hits!" Kazuya heard Eijun exclaimed not far from him while he practices his throwing. He glances to the batter's box to see who created the commotion. His eyes landed on Naoki just in time as she twisted her body to hit the ball for another home run.

"Woah! Fujioka-senpai is so awesome! That's fourth!" Eijun exclaimed again.

 _"_ _Oho? She's also good at batting. Figures she's saying the truth when she told Furuya she can hit a home run out of him"_ Kazuya thought impressed with Naoki's performance.

 _"_ _And is it just me or her eyes are starting to look lively?"_ he added as he observed her ready herself for another bat.

"Hey woman! That's enough. You've proven yourself!" Isashiki shouted in the sidelines.

"Fujioka-chan! Try fielding!" Youichi excitedly called in his area. Behind him are Ryousuke and Haruichi throwing and passing the ball.

 _"_ _No, not yet. I still have to do at least fifty battings"_ Naoki thought.

"Um, can you give me forty-five more?" She shyly asked to the pitcher.

"Forty-five?! Are you crazy?"

"That's enough I said. I'll bat next, go to Kuramochi" Isashiki growled, going to Naoki and started dragging her off the box.

"Wait! I still have—" Naoki cried as Isashiki pushed her to Kuramochi's direction.

"Fujioka-san, your next practice is fielding" Tetsuya ordered to her. Naoki slumped her shoulders and pouted while walking to Kuramochi's area.

"Ahahaha, I didn't know she could be childish" Kazuya said with a grin.

 _"_ _She's starting to show her colors"_

Kataoka heard Kazuya's laughter and remark on Naoki and smiled himself. Naoki is starting to return to her former self but it's still a long way. Kataoka knows that she can easily bat or protect the field and even catch the ball despite her depression but pitching will be the true measure whether she had finally recovered. If she cannot pitch as she had back then later in the field, then Naoki might be deemed a lost cause.

"Miyuki"

Kazuya turned upon hearing his name. Seeing that the coach wanted him, he jogged to his side.

"Later, I want you to be the catcher when Fujioka pitches." Coach Kataoka started, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"I want you to draw out everything in her, if possible, her best pitch"

Kazuya furrowed his brows at this.

"What do you mean draw out everything in her, coach?"

"Pitching is actually Fujioka's forte but because of an accident in which she lost her brother one and a half years ago, she deteriorated" Kataoka explained and they both turned their heads in Naoki's direction as she received another praise in her performance in fielding.

"Her batting and defending suffered little but I know pitching will be different. She'll perform it as best as she can but I guess she will never try her best pitches" Kataoka added further.

"So, you want me to force her, eh?" Kazuya summarized and Kataoka nodded in response.

"But she'll be difficult"

Kazuya smirked at this.

Oh, but he does love challenges and nothing beats the pleasure of knowing you manipulated a difficult person to do your bidding.

* * *

"Wow food!" Naoki heard Eijun exclaimed in front of the table.

"Uwah! You're that pretty lady the other day! What are you doing here? And why are you wearing those?" Naoki snapped her head to the voice. It was the maroon-haired girl she had asked the first time she entered the field. Naoki glanced down in response to the girl's question about wearing the baseball attire.

"Hehe, this is Fujioka Naoki, our new member" Kuramochi proudly said, laying his arm on Naoki's shoulders.

"No way!" the girl exclaimed.

"Hey Haruno, didn't we told you that earlier? Jeez, you forgot it already?" one of the managers scolded Haruno.

"Ah, sorry. Oh, here wants some?" Haruno laughed awkwardly and offered a tray of rice balls and bananas. Naoki smiled at her and took one rice ball while Kuramochi took a banana.

"Oi, Kuramochi, aren't you a little too comfortable with our new member?" Kazuya teasingly asks behind them, also holding a banana. Youichi reddened and quickly took his arm off her shoulder.

"Miyuki, what are you saying idiot?!" Youichi growled with a glare.

"Hahaha, Kuramochi-senpai is blushing" Eijun laughed from afar. Youichi's vein popped and he sprinted to Eijun's side to wrestle him.

"Aw aw aw!" Eijun cried.

Naoki smiled at the two then feeling someone's stare, she turned her head. Kazuya and Naoki's eyes connected and time froze.

Staring at Kazuya's eyes, Naoki felt like he is looking through her soul and she to him. In his eyes she read a subtle hint of an emotion that is fading away. Was that jealousy?

Curious, Naoki tilted her head to the side as she tried to recover that fleeting emotion. Her stare becoming intense.

 _"_ _Cute"_ Kazuya unconsciously thought at Naoki's action and the way her eyes seem to widen in concentration while staring at him.

Badump.

Again, he felt it. The skipping of his heartbeat and the narrowing of his perception to solely hers. Unbeknownst to them, they had taken a step closer to each other.

"Thanks to this I can go all night long!"

With Eijun's shout, their little bubble broke and reality started spinning again.

Realizing their close approximation, the two stumbled backwards and snapped their heads in the opposite direction. Naoki blushing profusely while Kazuya's ears reddened.

Fortunately, no one seems to notice their unusual behavior except for the stoic Satoru who had watched the exchange from the start while chewing his rice ball.

 _"_ _Miyuki-senpai and Fujioka-senpai looks good together.."_

* * *

 **Ace of Diamond Episode 14, Season 1**


	5. Chapter 4

"Fujioka, on the mound!" coach Kataoka called while the upperclassmen ate.

"Miyuki are you ready?" he asks in Kazuya's direction who was strapping his protector.

"So, she'll be pitching next huh?"

"I wonder; will she ace this too?"

"She's actually very good"

Naoki stared at the mound, suddenly feeling numb. Everything she's wearing right now is weighing her down. She couldn't possibly take another step, could she? She might fall on the ground if she twitches a little. Naoki's feet remained frozen before the mound.

"Go Fujioka-senpai!" Eijun cheered together with the others in the sidelines. Naoki gave him a strained smile which Kataoka and Kazuya noticed.

 _"_ _She's feeling strained even though she hadn't stepped on the mound yet"_ Kazuya observed with narrowed eyes.

"Tetsu, you'll be the batter" Kataoka announced, Naoki twisted her body to Kataoka's direction.

"S-someone's..going to..hit my pitches?" She asks as she visibly trembles. Feeling her feet turning jelly, Naoki forced her shaking legs to climb the mound.

"Of course" Kataoka confirms while Tetsuya walked to the batter's box with Kazuya already in position.

 _"_ _Naoko.."_ Naoki called to her brother as she stood on the mound. Her eyes directed on the plate but not really seeing Tetsuya and Kazuya. She stood still as the field brightened by lights for the coming night faded into that one warm afternoon. Her heart started aching, feeling sharp needles pierce it mercilessly. The present that she's just coming back to started fusing with a past she's trying to break away from.

Naoki heard Naoko's peal of laughter and whatever sliver of control she holds over reality began slipping as a mirage of her brother consumed her vision.

He is there facing her fully while waiting on the plate, shouldering a bat and looking at her the way brothers look at their sisters. Challenging but at the same time teasing.

"Naoki, no hard feelings when I hit it over the fence, okay?" Naoko said with twinkles in his eyes and lips upturned.

 _"_ _O-oh, this is bad. Her eyes are starting to glaze over again"_ Kazuya thought in alarm, noticing the slackness of her figure and the way she stared at them blankly on her spot.

"Naoki! Show me your conviction!" Kataoki shouted from the sidelines and Naoki snapped from the memory of her brother's laughing face, the past disintegrating like smoke. She turned her head to her uncle, yes in this moment he is her uncle and not her coach, but she felt it was a futile attempt. All her physical strength and her mental fortitude, seem to her, are seeping out of her reach.

 _"_ _Mother, father.."_

Naoki gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on the ball. She must pitch somehow because if she won't, all her loved ones' effort will be for nothing. Misaki's face flashed before Naoki's eyes, her worried expression and her kindness, sources of strength Naoki tries to tap into.

 _"_ _Why did I come here in Seido? Why? Naoki, why?"_

 _"_ _It's coming!"_ Kazuya thought as he felt the sudden change of aura coming from the mound. Tetsuya narrowed his eyes in concentration. Naoki didn't say she's ready but she is ready to pitch, this Tetsuya deduced based on the flare of pressure she's exuding.

Naoki started moving her body and the two players at the plate tensed. The crowd waited in anticipation and Kataoka didn't took his eyes away from her.

Just like lightning though, it was over.

Kazuya felt the shift of his mitt and the familiar weight of the ball successfully caught, the receive fast and quiet. Unlike Satoru's heavy pitching, Naoki's fastball did not create any sound. It's like the ball teleported onto his mitt without him noticing. Tetsuya stared at him in astonishment. He hadn't swung in time, or a more apt description is he didn't anticipate the timing of the ball at all.

"W-what was that?!" Eijun exclaimed while the others stared open-mouthed.

"Fu-fujioka-senpai.." Haruichi stammered. Her pitching is so fast that it only created a blur on its path.

"Woah!" the crowd cheered.

 _"_ _Heh, I didn't expect that. But then again, there's a lot of things I haven't been expecting when it comes to you"_ Kazuya smirked widely as he felt the mitt. Pleased that finally one of their pitchers has some nearly perfect ball control.

"What is that Naoki?! Do you want to show me your deteriorating pitching?" Kataoka's voice boomed in the wide and open field.

The crowd quieted down in surprise. It seems coach Kataoka is disappointed with Naoki's performance.

"No way. Are you saying that isn't her best pitch?"

Whispers soon filled the crowd. Some are in disbelief while others shrugged it off as coach Kataoka's dissatisfaction due to high expectations. Even to a girl, their coach doesn't hold back, this they thought.

Kazuya glanced at coach Kataoka's direction. How will he draw out Naoki's best pitch when her last pitch feels like her best pitch? He turned his attention to Naoki, her face concealed by her hat. He smiled widely.

Challenge accepted.

Kazuya saw her grit her teeth then she lifted her face streaming with tears and pointed a finger to the coach.

"Shut up, old man! This is why you don't have a girlfriend until now! It's because you're too demanding!" Naoki shouted at Kataoka at the same time releasing the pent-up frustration she felt for not doing well as she did in the past.

Silence.

"Pfft. She just called shades-I mean- coach, old man" Eijun whispered but in the silence, it was loud enough for all to hear.

Laughter came unbidden and spread like wildfire amongst the players. Kataoka let them laugh to their hearts content though if they will look closely, a small smirk can be seen on his face. For him, Naoki's outburst is a sign that she's not willing to give up just yet. It's proof she's not letting her emotions cage her into submission.

In the middle of the laughter, Kazuya went to Naoki on the mound.

"Ah, what is it Miyuki-kun?" Naoki asks as she wipes the tears using her sleeves.

"That pitch of yours. It is a very fast fastball but it lacks strength. I figured you sacrificed that for speed and it would be effective in a short run. Not only that, it goes in a straight direction so even if it is fast, if the batter already deduced that that is the pitch you will make then it will be easier to get a homerun" Kazuya criticized her pitch to which she gave a nod.

"Yes, I know. The main advantage of the earlier pitch is that it will take the opponent by surprise. Its main purpose is to distract and to intimidate the enemy" she stated with a smile.

"Oh, is that so. Then, you have more in your sleeves?" Kazuya said teasingly.

"Of course, the coach was my first trainer when I was a child after all."

"Seriously?" Kazuya gaped at her, not expecting that she'd known the coach since she was a child.

"Yep. And Miyuki-kun, I must confess, I hate to lose so can you help me slay our captain over there?" Naoki said with a soft smile.

"You don't have to ask" Kazuya replied with a grin. Then the two noticed the silence.

"Hey you two, quit flirting!" Isashiki shouted in the sidelines.

Kazuya rubbed his neck and showed him a wide grin while jogging back to the plate.

"Captain, we're not going to give up any runs!" Naoki shouted which caused Kazuya to trip a little.

"Idiot, why are you telling him? Now, he'll be more guarded" Kazuya said to her, she just smiled at him with a little twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

 _"_ _Jeez, making my job harder huh. Well, can't say I'm complaining"_ Kazuya grinned at this and looked up from his position.

"Just like she said, Yuki-san. Please prepare yourself"

* * *

"In the end, you gave up two runs" Kataoka said in the dug-out with Naoki sitting beside him. She was excused for the last session of practice since Kataoka knew she couldn't survive the night with the mental toll she received from her pitching.

"All of those pitches you've made aren't your best. I also didn't see your special form." He added further, the last part making Naoki stiffen.

"I-I can't completely see the mitt, uncle. I'm lost in Naoko's memory and sometimes it's hard to tell which reality I'm in; the present or past. It's so hard to turn away from him." Naoki confessed beside him.

Naoki's hands clenched on her lap, her head sinking against her chest. Playing baseball again reopened old wounds, wounds she thought had turned into scars. Now, she's going to bandage it all up again for it to fully heal for good.

Is going to this school really a good idea?

Kataoka rested his hand on her bowed head.

"It's fine. Take this challenge step by step. Though you are nowhere near your best but I know you are trying. Naoko would be proud knowing you are not giving up on your shared passions" Kataoka said softly. Naoki tried to suppressed the sob at his words. The ache lodging in her throat and her eyes burning in her attempts to not blink, lest the gathered tears fall.

"T-thank you..s-so much, uncle. For g-giving me the c-chance" Naoki stammered as the tears silently flowed, failing yet again to stop herself from crying although one small reprieve is that she did it quietly. Kataoka ruffled her head while staring straight ahead.

"It's not just me, Naoki. Your father too, your mother and your friends."

"I'll give them a call later…"

 _"_ _Father, mother, I'm moving forward. Thank you."_

* * *

"I can't sleep.." Naoki murmured, staring at the ceiling. She sighed and stood then poked Mamoru's sleeping form with her feet. He didn't twitch or did any motion that indicated he felt her roving and annoying touch.

"Mamo, wake up and play with me" she ordered lazily. Mamoru turned to the side, ignoring her and sleeping soundly.

"Hmm, even my dog is fast asleep. Why can't I?" Naoki asks herself, staring at the ceiling.

After some time contemplating, she changes her clothes, deciding to do something for her excess energy.

She took her phone and her speaker then walked out of her room, not locking her door. Mamoru is a decent enough guard dog that she can leave the room without any worry. Naoki walks leisurely to her destination. She chose the indoor practice ground for her activity. Thankfully, it's nearly in the middle of the night so there is no one around to witness her. There's also no sleeping quarters near the vicinity so she would not be able to disturb someone's sleep with her plans for the night.

Naoki laid her phone and her speaker at a long bench near the entrance of the building. Before she starts her activity, Naoki did her toning exercises first. Exercises she learned from her mother. After feeling warm and pumped, Naoki connected her phone to the speaker and chose a song.

As the melody begins to play so does the fluid motions of her body.

Naoki dances as freely as the tune. The music plangent and beautiful, speaking to an inner her which labels dancing as her second passion.

* * *

"Ah, I can't sleep" Kazuya complained while walking to the vending machine. He rubbed his eyes and properly put back his glasses. Now that the unwanted visitors had finally left his room and he could get the rest he badly needs, sleep started eluding him. Kazuya sighed and scratched his hair.

As he waited for the machine to release the can he chose, Kazuya heard a sound coming from the indoor practice ground. Curious, he took the can and walked to the building. He sneaked a peek inside and saw Naoki in leggings paired with a baggy shirt dancing to the melody of the song.

 _"_ _So I wasn't hallucinating when I though she's dancing when she does fielding and pitching"_ Kazuya thought, watching as Naoki does a type of dance unfamiliar to him. But it is clear she incorporates dancing in baseball with the twists of her hips, the swing of her arms, and the movements of her legs. Kazuya noticed that she also has fast reflexes, able to switch the direction of her throw or the kind of pitch seconds before throwing it.

He leaned on the door, forgetting his plan to hide and instead openly watches her dance performance. Totally captivated with the elegant and controlled executions of her body.

Naoki struck a pose just in time as the song ended. Someone cleared their throat and she twisted to see them. It was Kazuya, leaning with a lazy grin on his face offering a can of coffee.

"Can't sleep?" he asks as he straightened and walked up to her. She nodded, taking the can from him and opening it.

"Are you sure you don't need one?" Naoki asks after sipping from it.

"I don't need it. Your performance was enough wake-up call for me" Kazuya reasoned, going to one of the benches at the front and seating on it.

Naoki blushed when she realized Kazuya had seen her dance.

"What kind of dance performance was that?" Kazuya asks curiously while she drinks. Naoki smiled at the inquisitive look he sent her way.

"It's a contemporary dance. I learned it from my mother, the dancing, I mean. The contemporary dance is my favorite genre" Naoki explained, shaking the can.

"Hmmm, so dancing has genres too" Kazuya muttered. Naoki laugh lightly after hearing him. She put the can on the floor, closes her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly opened her eyes as she gave him a soft smile.

"Well, do continue.." he said as he put his other foot on the bench and propped his hand over it to support his face.

"I guess I'm obliged for one last dance, eh? As payment for the drink" Naoki said before going to her phone and choosing a song for her last number.

Kazuya gave a clap after her last dance and she beamed at him. She skipped to his side and sat beside him.

"I inherited dancing from my mother and baseball, a gift, from my father. So I kind of feel guilty for not doing well in pitching this evening." she said to Kazuya after a while of silence.

"I'm sorry for disappointing you too. I'm sure you're expecting so much from me after what I've said" she added before he can utter a word.

 _"_ _She's chatty. It seems dancing makes her uninhibited, huh"_ he thought as he observed her in his periphery.

"Hmmm…it wasn't disappointing." Kazuya dismissed, staring at the floor. Now that they're close, he couldn't help but feel conscious of her presence.

"Actually, it was fun finding ways to utilize all your talents. Your ball control pave way for me to manipulate the situation in order to defeat our opponent. Now, that is something compared to Furuya and Sawamura. They have great potential but their current weaknesses limit me" he complimented and smiled at the last part about Sawamura and Furuya.

"Not only that, they are also self-centered" he thought. Naoki snickered at his peeved expression and only then did he realized that he said it out loud.

"Then, as a catcher, what can you say about my pitches?" Naoki asks curiously. Kazuya took a moment to contemplate.

"All of them are unique. You've taken each style and put a spin of your own. You also have crazy ball control. To tell you the truth, I didn't know how to distinguish your best pitch from your other pitch. They are incredible already but when I started to consistently receive your ball, though they are more than average, their feel doesn't really make me want to say 'nice ball'" Kazuya explained beside her.

"Wow, Miyuki-kun you're observant" Naoki noted after his lengthy explanation. He grinned at her.

"Thanks for the compliment!"

"Then are you willing to hear why I can't pitch my best pitch yet?" Naoki suddenly offered, the compulsion to tell him about her strong.

"You're the catcher after all. So it would be proper to let you know" she added with a melancholic smile.

"ahehehe, are you sure? You look like you don't want to even when you're the one who offered" Kazuya said scratching a cheek and leaning with his hands as support. Naoki smiled at his laid back attitude.

"I'm going to tell even if _you're_ the one who doesn't want to hear it" She took a deep breath and relaxed herself, not in the least bit burdened by the fact that she'll tell him one of her greatest weaknesses. But even at the knowledge of the step she's taking opening up to person she barely knows, Naoki strangely feels at peace. No discomfort at the prospect of her incoming revelation, nor does she feels nervousness. It's as if talking to him about an old story, something you repeatedly reminisce with someone close to you. A kind of easy companionship found between best friends.

"I have a twin brother and his name is Naoko…."

* * *

"What are you saying Ren? Naoki should be the name of the boy and Naoko is the girl" Fujioka Mei scolded in her bed while holding their baby boy. Ren who was standing by her side and holding their baby girl gaped at her then a look of horror materialized in his face.

"M-mei-chan! I-I completely forgot!" he cried.

"Jeez, you're one of the best lawyers in Japan yet you forgot your children's names." Mei let out a sigh.

"Why did I marry you again?" she muttered.

"No! My baby girl will be bullied for having a boy's name." he cried again while hugging the baby on his chest. Mei sighed again.

"Well, it couldn't be helped. I guess little Naoko-kun will protect his little Naoki-chan, eh?" Mei said to Ren with a smile, nuzzling the boy in her arms.

* * *

"Wait" Kazuya interrupted. Naoki tilted her head to the side.

"You're supposed to be Naoko and your brother Naoki?"

"Yep"

At this, Kazuya let out a laugh. Naoki watched him cry tears of laughter with a smile of her own.

"What an idiot father" Kazuya said after his laughter died down.

"But I guess he made up to it by introducing us to baseball.." Naoki continued with a nod and a bittersweet smile, remembering the first time the two of them step on a baseball field.

"My brother and I fell in love at first sight with baseball and even at such a young age we were desperate to take up the ball and start copying the adults. It made for one funny spectacle, my brother dragging a bat and me trying to find my way in the oversized head protector." Naoki slightly laugh as she finished while Kazuya's eyes softened looking at her beaming face as she told him about her childhood.

"..you two were probably a handful.." Kazuya added with a smirk and Naoki agreed with him.

"In junior high, we have our own baseball team for girls and I joined it while my brother is on the boys' team. We have few official games so mostly we participated in scrimmages against the boys and whoever will take up a girls' team, I guess" Naoki stared at the ceiling and unconsciously laid her head on Kazuya's shoulder. He noticed this but did not act to push her head away, instead he relaxed further and subtly moved his shoulder for a better cushion.

"In the last year of junior high, Naoko's team won the Prefectural Tournament and was qualified to participate in the National Tournament" Kazuya felt the shift of her emotions. From fondness to despair.

"He..played with me the day before going to Tokyo, to the Koshien stadium, for the final round because I couldn't come to see his game. I-I never thought that it was the last day" Naoki's voice broke as she remembered that beautiful day. It was filled with so much happiness and laughter

 _"_ _I couldn't possibly deserve this"_ she had thought laughingly that day.

She didn't because after that day, being happy seemed to her is a crime.

"He was assigned as an outfielder because the coach wanted him on the mound at any time. He was doing his job when the accident happened." Naoki felt numb, like a machine spewing information yet not really aware of it.

Kazuya laid his hand on Naoki's shoulder and the other hand on the top of her head in a semi-hug. This is all he can do for now.

"You don't have to tell me, I..can somehow visualize it" Kazuya whispered as he laid his head on top of hers. Naoki's shoulders shook.

No, he couldn't, but for the sake of ending her pain-filled voice, he will lie no matter how curious he is of what happened. A board fell or he twisted his knee, an internal hemorrhage perhaps? So many things could be a factor in one's death on the field because despite the staff's carefulness, sometimes when it's your time to die, no measures of safety could save you.

Kazuya let himself be swallowed for a moment by a past pervaded by a beeping noise, antiseptic scent on the long corridors, white walls on its four sides, and a pale thin hand, motionless.

Kazuya came back to the present as something wet, tears, dropped onto his hand grasping on her shoulders.

"The-the last clear image of him that I remembered..was him on the batter's box..grinning at me, waiting..for my pitch" Naoki's tears silently rolled as she told him, biting her lip to suppress the urge to cry out loud.

 _"_ _So that's why she looks devastated when standing on the mound. Ah, coach, so this is what you meant when you told us she's a special case"_ Kazuya thought bitterly.

Naoki reluctantly pulled away from him, just realizing that she'd been in a near intimate position with a guy. She wiped her tears with her sleeves and smiled apologetically at him.

"Ah, this is the second time you've seen me cry huh? Just so you know, I don't make it a habit to cry in front of boys, you just seem to have the knack to witness my breakdowns" she said to Kazuya with a pout. Kazuya grinned at her.

"Well, I also don't make it a habit of comforting girls and it would be rude of me to ignore a girl crying in front of me, wouldn't it?" he said with a light laugh.

"True, true. My, Miyuki-kun, I didn't know you're quite a gentleman" she teased.

"Who, me?" Kazuya pointed at himself then gave her a mocking bow which was surprisingly graceful despite his sitting position.

"Thank you, my lady"

As the night wore on, they continued to live in the little bubble they had erected with laughter and stories that guided them to the next day of the hellish summer camp.


	6. Chapter 5

Naoki giggled as Eijun failed again in hitting the incoming ball during morning practice. Both Miyuki and her had stayed up late and she guessed, had only slept for a few hours before morning practice but even so, she felt energized.

"Okay, Fujioka-chan, are you ready?"

"Yes!"

Rei watched Naoki play in fielding and noted her energy. She turned to coach Kataoka beside her.

"Fujioka-chan seems to be recovering well. Rather, I should say she's acting as if yesterday's mental toll didn't happen." Rei said touching the rim of her glasses.

"Yes, she's blending in with the players and her plays are starting to look elegant. All those awkward angles are disappearing"

Rei stared at him in disbelief. She didn't know Naoki had displayed flaws yesterday. She sighed and smiled.

 _"_ _Heh, I guess you'd be that critical when you know her since childhood huh?"_

"Coach, will you make her participate in the upcoming scrimmages?" Oota asks behind them.

"Naoki is here not for the benefit of the team but for her recovery. I will not let her play in scrimmages if she's still not fully recovered. Her current mental state is fragile at best so I know without a doubt that against pressure, she'll break down" Kataoka explained while Rei stared at him and then returned her gaze to Naoki.

 _"_ _It's amazing how much he knows you Fujioka-chan. But are you really as fragile as he thinks?"_ Rei thought with a hand on her chin contemplating.

* * *

"Woah! What rigorous training before breakfast!" Naoki exclaimed letting out a breath as she sat. Youichi glanced at her and grinned, seeing that she doesn't look as tired as the first years.

"Oh my! I have to eat three bowls of rice?" She gasped in disbelief at the blond freshman who gave her tray. He blushed at her penetrating gaze, feeling conscious of his shirt and his hair.

"Y-yes senpai. That's the rule here" he stammered as Naoki gave him a bright smile.

"Thanks! I'll do my best to finish it all Kanemaru-kun, right?"

Shinji blushed again, flattered that she remembered his name. Then he noticed the half-empty bowl of rice she had and gaped at her in amazement but noticed something white under their table. Naoki grinned at him.

 _"_ _Ugh..I can't tell her.."_ Shinji thought, giving her a strained smile. He bowed and proceeded to his next task.

"Kyahaha, it's good to have pets sometimes" Youichi grinned beside her. Naoki turned to him with a grin as well.

"What are you talking about Kuramochi-kun?" She asks innocently to which he only laughs harder.

"Good boy, Mamo" Naoki whispered when she noticed that he had finished his share. It's a good thing he's not a full adult yet, or else it would have been harder to hide him under the table.

"Are you sure Mamoru won't get fat eating those?" Kazuya asks as he sat beside her.

"Nah, I'm giving him daily exercises so he'll lose them" she explained while scratching Mamo's ears.

"You should take the three-rice-bowls rule seriously. You need it, you know" Kazuya said as he starts eating.

"Of course, I'm slowly incorporating it. My body wouldn't react well if I immediately ate that many" Naoki said as she too resumed eating. Youichi observed the interaction in his periphery.

 _"_ _Since when did these two become this close?"_

Naoki giggled again as she heard Eijun's complaint about Shinji's insistence that he must finish his food and Isashiki's threat of further practice after witnessing the overly loud response of Eijun.

"Ne, is Sawamura always like this?" Naoki curiously asks Kazuya. He smirked as he set down his bowl.

"He's been like that since the first day he got here."

"He didn't do well after eating three bowls of rice the first time too" Youichi interjected with a laugh.

"Oh, Furuya-kun is not eating" Naoki observed as Shinji looks at Satoru's bowl and discovered it had been barely touched. She laughed when Shinji scolded him because of it. The first year trio is so funny.

"Ah! Which reminds me, where do you take a bath, Fujioka-chan?"

Kazuya, Youichi, and the other boys who had heard the question stiffened. Naoki turned her head at the source, it's one of the third years, Kominato Ryousuke the always smiling senpai.

"Kominato-san, why the sudden interest?" Naoki asks. Unbeknownst to her, the boys had grown quiet and are straining to hear her reply.

"Well, I don't want to walk in the bath with you naked in it"

 _"_ _Ryo-san.."_ Youichi thought while a blush starts creeping in his face as the idea set on his head. Kazuya noticed this and he frowned. When he looked up, he discovered that the other guys are also sporting a varied shade of red in their faces.

"Hmm, if I remember correctly, Fujioka-chan's room is one of the three single rooms in this dorm. Rei-chan also told me they have their own bathroom over there" Kazuya explained with annoyance.

"O-oh!"

"Wow, Miyuki-kun. You're well-informed" Naoki said with a bit of surprise. Kazuya and Ryousuke shared a glance and the latter's smile became even wider. Kazuya smirked at Ryousuke's back.

 _"_ _What are you trying to prove, Ryo-san?"_ Kazuya thought with mouth up tilted and narrowed eyes.

* * *

"Fujioka, this afternoon I want you to focus on catching. Go to Chris, I think it's time you see Sawamura's pitching" Coach Kataoka told her after the beginning of the evening practice that afternoon.

Naoki gave him a nod and jogged to Chris' location.

"Chris-senpai, I'll catch his pitch" Naoki called as she neared them. Eijun's disappointed expression changed to a beam. Chris smiled and nodded at her.

"Yay! Fujioka-senpai will finally receive my pitch!" Eijun shouted with fists in the air.

Chris instructed Eijun first before signaling for her to take up position. Eijun grinned at her in his place.

Naoki's eyes widened as he started pitching and saw his delayed hands. Thanks to her reflexes she was able to catch the ball.

 _"_ _Getting a homerun out of him will be hard but not impossible"_

"A natural moving ball eh?" She spoke out loud to Chris who in turn gave her a nod.

"Sawamura-kun, you're good at something too huh? Who knew?" She said with a laugh and told him to send another.

* * *

By the third day of the Summer Camp, Naoki started feeling the fatigue from the two consecutive days of hard training. Even though she will not participate in the official tournament, the coach had strictly ordered the second string and the other coaches to treat her as if she does.

 _"_ _Curse you, uncle! How could you do this to your beloved godchild!"_ Naoki thought with a pout as she followed the ball. She is currently doing fielding.

"Fujioka, batting!"

Naoki's vein popped at the command. She's in the middle of fielding and now they want her in batting?

 _"_ _These boys are testing my patience"_ Naoki gritted her teeth, her patience slowly slipping.

At the evening, Naoki could barely keep up at the last lap although Eijun and the other two are much more behind than her.

It's been long since she had trained this hard from sunrise to sunset. She silently scolded herself for abandoning her training for one and a half years. If she hadn't, she could probably keep up with the third years.

"We practice again in the morning. Stretch and get some sleep" coach Kataoka commanded at the sides.

Naoki took a deep breath and started her stretching. She wants to hurry up and finish this already. Her body protested at the added stretching especially her legs but she didn't slow down her rhythm. In her mind there's only three goals after this: eat, bath, and sleep.

But after the training, she had only accomplished one thing: sleep. In her haste, she had also forgotten to fed Mamoru.

Which is why in the middle of the night she woke up from Mamoru's barking. She groaned as she raised her body from the bed, her aching muscles protested for being moved. Like a zombie, she opened one of the dog foods and set it down on the floor.

In her sleepy state, she had decided to take a hot bath at the common area since she only have a shower and toilet in her bathroom. She took her long cottony bathrobe and proceeded to the bathing room of the building.

Naoki at least had the presence of mind to turn on the heater before going in though she left her clothes on the floor without folding it, having faith with the fact that all occupants are asleep.

She released a contented sigh as she felt the warm water lapped her body. After a few minutes of immersing, she stood with half-lidded eyes. Wiped her body of water and wore her bathrobe. She walked like a drunk out of the room.

Naoki was too lost in sleep to hear the flush of the toilet in the other room. Her mind is also too hazy to detect the opening of the toilet room as she neared it. Needless to say, the other person is also in his sleep-deprived state of mind.

And so, in their stupor, their paths collided and they bumped into each other with Kazuya snapping from his daze and catching Naoki before she falls unceremoniously on the floor.

"F-fujioka?" Kazuya stammered, not expecting to see her in the dead of the night wearing a bathrobe.

 _"_ _She must have taken a bath"_ Kazuya thought as he noted her attire and the dripping unbound locks of her usual braided hair. Unconsciously, his eyes followed the way the droplets travelled downward. His eyes lowered and snapped upward as it widened. Kazuya started blushing and breathing profusely.

"Mi..yu..ki?" Naoki turned her head to his and their nose touched. With this nearness, Kazuya could feel her breath on his cheeks. She stared at him intensely and just when he thought she was going to say something, her head drooped. Naoki is fast asleep. Kazuya sighed then froze when he realized he have to carry her back to her room.

He carried her at his back as he searched for her room. When he found and opened it, Mamoru barked.

"Shh.." He ordered while entering the room and since it is open, Mamoru took the chance to get out. Kazuya opened his mouth to shout for the dog to come back but thought better of it. It would be bad if somebody hears him and investigates. They may arrive at a wrong conclusion if he's seen.

Kazuya laid her on her bed carefully, fixing her robe and shoving softly the hair off her face. He's supposed to get out of there after putting her in but he suddenly felt the urge to examine her sleeping face as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Those long lashes that framed the crescent shaped eyes. She looked a bit pinkish too, evidence of taking a hot bath, and those rosy red lips.

"What kissable lips you have, Naoki-chan" he whispered as he leaned.

No one would know.

She wouldn't know.

He'll keep it light like a peck.

Bark.

Kazuya froze then he straightened his back and turned his head. It was Mamoru, waiting on the door with head tilted to the side. He sighed and stood, going to the door. He gestured for the dog to enter which he obeyed.

"Goodnight" Kazuya said while closing the door with Mamoru still staring at him, only Kazuya's eyes are not trained on the dog but on Naoki who turned to the side and hugged her pillow.

Kazuya leaned on the door with head bowed then his shoulders started to shook and he put a hand on his mouth. He laid his head on the door and stared at the ceiling with upturned lips. He shook his head and put his hands on his pockets as he returned to his room.

* * *

"I'll be taking your catcher spot soon."

"Yes sir. Looking forward to it"

Naoki heard Kazuya replied on another catcher in the bullpen as she passed by. She paused and noted the person who challenged Kazuya.

Miyauchi Keisuke, third year.

He does have talent but compared to Kazuya, that catcher position will be just a dream.

Naoki smirked. One thing she noticed about Kazuya's character is that he loves challenges so he probably wouldn't give up his catcher position; the catcher after all, is the one who manipulates the game.

She continued on to her destination.

Naoki's coping with her fatigue better than she'd thought. This she realized after the end of their evening training.

 _"_ _Don't tell me it's one of those days?"_ her eyes widened at the dawning realization. She grinned at herself. She's not losing her touch.

Sometimes, in the middle of heavy fatigue her body would suddenly be energized. The more she exerts effort the more the fatigue disappears. It's a kind of subtle adrenaline rush, a steady and long release as long as she keeps moving. In order for her body's state to become normal, she needs to cool down for two days, she needs to avoid too much physical activity because if she didn't she'll have a lot of energy to spare.

Naoki skipped to coach Kataoka's side with sparkles in her eyes. At once, Kataoka knew what she's going to say.

 _"_ _Ah, it's one of those days"_ he though with a sigh as she started opening he mouth.

"Go play somewhere with your monster energy, Naoki. I'm ending practice today" Kataoka said to her to which she pouted in response.

"But uncle I really think I could hit a thousand runs or-"

Kataoka sighed and held a hand to shut her up.

"Practice is over. Go do stretching and rest!" He commanded to the team.

"What does she mean?" Rei asks behind him.

"Sometimes, Naoki would be hit by an intense energy reserve. Her fatigue disappears and she must be constantly in motion in order to dwindle that reserve but it would continue to fill up the lost energy and would only disappear when she completely waste her days doing nothing" Kataoka explained to Rei who gaped at him. He released a sigh.

"The Fujioka family are a troublesome lot."

* * *

"Kuramochi-kun, where are you going?" Naoki asks as she approached Youichi and Tohru.

"Heh, we're going to play in Miyuki's room." He said with a smirk.

"Really? I want to join! Can I? Can I?" Naoki asks beaming brightly and jumping lightly. Youichi froze, his eyes settled on Naoki's breasts who are having a jump of their own. He laughed awkwardly.

"O-of course.."

"Yay!" she cheered and took off ahead of them. Youichi and Tohru shared a glance. Naoki is acting unusual.

"What are you guys playing?" Naoki inquired as Youichi and Ataru settled near the television. She saw Youichi pulled out last years' edition of Tekken.

"Wah! I want to play!" Naoki exclaimed at the two.

"Well, Fujioka-chan, you can play my part for a while" Ataru said, giving to her the controller. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Nakata-kun. Hmph! I'll defeat you Kuramochi!" She declared beside Youichi. He laughed at her.

"Just so you know Fujioka, no one has defeated me yet!"

"Ha! Bring it on!"

* * *

Kazuya sighed as Eijun and Satoru finally left him. He let out a mischievous laugh with the plan he had formed in mind.

 _"_ _Huh? It's noisier than usual"_ he thought, hearing Isashiki's laughter from the inside. As he opened the door, he caught tidbits of Isashiki's words.

"….just been owned!"

Kazuya's eyes landed on Isashiki first who was laughing on the floor and next to Tetsuya who was watching the game, his back on the shogi board. In his periphery, he noticed a standing figure. His eyes widened. It was Naoki wearing pants and white shirt and controller in hand, smiling widely.

"That was a fluke! One more time" Youichi growled in the floor. Isashiki laughed again.

"You've been saying that in three previous games already" Isashiki pointed out while the others nodded.

"Defeated fair and square" Tetsuya said seriously with arms crossed in his chest. Naoki noticed him on the doorway.

"Miyuki-kun, it's nice for you to join us.." She greeted with a smile.

"Oh! You're back Miyuki"

"Wait, Fujioka play with me one more time!" Youichi said determinedly.

"Nah, it's Nakata-kun's turn now. Here, thanks" Naoki said handing the controller to Ataru who paled as he felt Youichi's raging aura of vengeance for his multiple defeats.

"Okay, as promised I'll be playing with Yuuki-senpai next" Naoki declared and sat opposite of Tetsuya on the shogi board.

 _"_ _What the?! Looks like I don't need Furuya and Sawamura-"_

"Oi Miyuki, I need my massage" Isashiki commanded.

 _"_ _Nope, I need them"_ he thought as he offered him a smile.

"Can you wait Jun-san? You see Sawamura and Furuya is coming over." Kazuya said with a grin.

"You're good Fujioka. You defeated me quickly" Tetsuya complimented. Naoki laughed while rubbing her head. Finding it absolutely funny how easily Tetsuya fell for her traps.

"Thank you, Yuuki-senpai. Ah, excuse me for a moment, I'll buy something. I'll be right back" Naoki excused, standing from her seat and going out of the room. Kazuya watched her go from his position on the floor.

A few seconds later, the door opened revealing Eijun and Satoru. Kazuya grinned.

Time to enact his plan.

* * *

Kazuya snickered outside his door, cheering for the success of his plan. He started moving to the direction of Maezono's room when he caught a glimpse of Naoki.

"You going in?" he asks casually as she neared his spot.

"Yep"

"It's crowded in there though"

Naoki tilted her head to the side and smiled at him.

"I don't mind. The more the merrier, I guess" she ended with a laugh.

Kazuya couldn't help the annoyance that flamed in his being. He doesn't want her in there with them and without him.

"Why don't you rest for the night Fujioka? Tomorrow will be another tiring day so don't waste your time with the idiots."

"But I have too much excess energy. I want to do something" Naoki complained with a pout. Kazuya sighed.

"So, why don't you dance again just like the last time?"

Naoki grinned at him, noticing his annoyed tone. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the indoor practice ground.

"What are we doing here?"

"You're going to watch me dance"

"What?!"

"You're the one who suggested it so you must see it through" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Heh, fine then where's the music?" he asks propping his chin on his hand.

"You'll provide me with one" Naoki said mischievously. Kazuya blinked at her in surprise.

"What?!"

"Come on Miyuki. Sing"

 _"_ _What have I gotten myself into?"_ he thought with a soft smile.


	7. Chapter 6

**This is one of my longer chapters so enjoy!**

* * *

"I want more! I'm not tired at all" Isashiki shouted in the field, sweating profusely.

"Another one" Tetsuya added, breathing rapidly.

Naoki heard the players voice their agreement throughout the field. She grinned in the middle of rapid breathing. Their willpower is somewhat infectious to her, she couldn't help but fire up more in this training.

"Move aside. I'm batting." Coach Kataoka said, taking over the batter's box. Naoki's eyes widened in surprise and she smiled.

 _"_ _I have plenty of energy to spare, uncle. I'll take you on"_ she silently said to Kataoka as they connected eyes from afar.

"First year Kominato, get off the field" he instructed to Haruichi. She grinned when he didn't point at her to get off the field as well. She took a deep breath, released it and concentrated as her eyes sharpened for the upcoming battle.

"Let's go nonstop!"

"Yes sir!" she shouted along the others that remained on the field.

* * *

 _"_ _How many hours had it been since he started?"_ she thought as she ran after the ball. She caught it and twisted her body to pass to the third baseman. Tohru had barely caught it.

 _"_ _He's slowing down"_ Naoki thought as the ball was passed to her and she passed it to the next.

 _"_ _That last pass by Yuuki-senpai is becoming slower as well"_ Naoki ran in the middle of thinking this, her mind still sharp and body still in motion. She winced when she saw Tohru took a ball on the chest.

 _"_ _Man, uncle's still as ruthless as ever"_

* * *

"Looks like Fujioka-senpai is the only one who still haven't made a mistake, yet" Shinji said beside his fellow second string member.

"Yeah..but she's also starting to slow down"

"Hey, go turn the lights on. It's gonna go on for a while" one of the third years said to them.

"Ha-hai.."

* * *

Naoki's breath hard as Kataoka continues to bat the ball. She chased the ball when it's clear it's in her direction. She jumped in mid-air and passed it to the first baseman. As she landed on her feet, she started smiling. The excitement she feels when playing baseball is coming back to her again.

 _"_ _Ah, this is fun!"_

"One..one more!" Isashiki tried to shout despite his heavy breathing.

"I can't hear you! Where's your normal attitude, Isashiki?!" coach Kataoka shouted from the distance.

Isashiki chased the ball the coach had thrown at him but he missed.

"Who taught you to catch like that?"

Naoki winced as the coach continues to scold him, even though he is breathing hard as well.

 _"_ _Such a monster"_ she thought as she chased the ball Ryousuke had missed to catch.

"Where's that smirk of yours, Kominato?"

By the time, she turned to pass the ball, all the third years are on their knees, breathing rapidly and heads bowed.

"What's wrong? Can't get up, Yuuki?"

Naoki's eyes widened, witnessing Tetsuya's inner strength as he tried to stand up before asking for another one from the coach.

 _"_ _Hat's off to you, captain"_ Naoki smiled as one by one, the third years showed their resolve with Isashiki voicing out a roar.

"All right, last one. Don't lose focus until the very end!"

"Yes sir!" she shouted as she tightened her hold on her glove.

* * *

Naoki didn't listen as Eijun and Satoru scolded Kazuya about not catching their pitch. She tried to smirk while chewing her food, seeing the disbelief in Kazuya's face in front of her. Tonight is the last night of the Summer Camp. For the remaining two days, the team will

"Are you guys being serious? What are we gonna talk about when you can't throw breaking balls?"

Naoki almost spits her food in laughter after seeing the devastated looks of both Eijun and Satoru from Kazuya's remark but she persevered and swallowed it.

 _"_ _Yosh, last bowl!"_ she cheered for herself.

"You guys probably have a lot of fatigue, so go get obliterated tomorrow" Kazuya ended with a laugh. Naoki's lips twitched at his antics and couldn't help but pity the two first years a little. Then she saw Satoru looked at his hands with a thoughtful expression.

"And you call yourself a catcher" Eijun growled as he shook Kazuya in his front shirt.

"Hey, I'm older than you" Kazuya said in the midst of Eijun's growling and impoliteness.

"Learn a little from Chris-" Eijun's retorted was cut off when she slammed her hands on the table and stood. She pumped her fists in the air.

"Mff! Iff..fmhm..ffm..mfhm!" Naoki tried to say while chewing the rice vigorously in her mouth. She is pleased with herself for finally finishing the prescribed three rice bowls per meal, too bad her words are incomprehensible.

The boys gave her a blank stare.

"Uh, Fujioka-senpai, what are you saying?" Eijun asks as he put down Kazuya.

"Idiot! She can't say anything clearly because her mouth is full" Youichi scolded with a smack on Eijun's head. Kazuya pointed a finger and laugh at her.

"You look like a pig!" he said and Naoki glared at him, breathing harder as she tried to quicken her chewing.

"And your mouth works funny" he laughed again when he saw the rapid movement of her mouth. Naoki swallowed the food after deeming it good enough not to cause choking. She cleared her throat.

"Neraiuchi"

Kazuya's laughter suddenly died down after hearing the word from her. He stared at her as she grinned at him and sat while starting to hum a song.

"Eh? What's neraiuchi?" Eijun inquired curiously at Kazuya's back.

"I don't know. Ask Miyuki" Naoki said as Kazuya tried to laugh it off.

"Let's eat, let's eat!" he said jovially and started eating before Eijun could ask another question.

The other third years who had witnessed the interaction shared a glance with each other then resumed their eating while Youichi observed the two from afar. He narrowed his eyes but then smirked as he saw a subtle hint of red in Kazuya's ears.

 _"_ _I can't believe it but it seems Fujioka-chan has Miyuki on a leash. Heh, I wonder.."_ Youichi thought as a plan started forming in his head.

 _"_ _I thought we'd agreed not to mention that?"_ Naoki suppressed the giggle when she received the look Kazuya sent her as they eat. She averted her eyes as she finished the last meal on her tray.

"Take aim and swing.." she hummed.

* * *

"Mamo, fetch!" she commanded as she threw a ball to the right. Mamoru obeyed gaily, running after the ball like a lifeline.

After dinner she decided to spend some time playing with Mamoru in the wide baseball field. It's a good workout for her pet and she also gets to stretch her pitching arm.

"As I thought, practicing is fine as long as no one is at bat." She murmured while rotating her shoulder. She stared at the mound as she waited for Mamoru to return with the ball.

"Oh! It's not full of your saliva. Good boy, Mamo" she praised after examining the ball he retrieved from the other side of the field. Mamoru gave her a bark in response. She petted his head to distract her thoughts of the mound. Unfortunately, telling herself not to think of it is the same as thinking about it.

Naoki let out a sigh which causes Mamoru to tilt his head, silently asking what is wrong. She gave him a wry smile.

"Go play, Mamo" she murmured, crouching in front of him and rubbing his ears before throwing the ball far from her. He obeyed although hesitantly at first.

Naoki faced the direction of the mound and took a step towards it. Her first step was filled with anxiety, the second step spoke of belief, and the succeeding steps symbolizes her will.

"See, Naoki. Nothing happened." She scolded softly to herself as she stood on the mound. She stared at the home plate and felt a flicker of pain.

After one and a half years, she still couldn't stop that initial response of disbelief, of realizing that he will never stand on the batter's box again. Naoki felt her eyes burn but kept the tears at bay. She will not break down just by standing there. She's not that weak, dammit!

"My, Fujioka what a surprise seeing you here in this time of night" Naoki heard someone said smoothly not far from her. She turned her head to the voice and saw Ryousuke smiling at her.

"Kominato-senpai, what is that supposed to mean?" She asks with furrowed brows. Ryousuke maintained his expression.

"Well, you always gave the impression that you're better than the rest of us. Oh, didn't you say that in the first meeting? So, I thought a prodigy like you doesn't need a lot of practice. After all, you did well even after more than a year of inactivity, right?"

Naoki's eyebrow twitched and she couldn't helped but be amused at his acerbic tongue, at the same she felt a little bit relieved. It's been nearly a week since she entered the team and only on that first day did she encountered a protest. After that, they seemed to have accepted her to the fold though she doubt it especially if she put into equation the second string's opinions.

Naoki had been given a special spot in the first string, a spot they were working hard to get probably since their first year, and she's also a girl. That clearly stings their pride. She was surprised the expected cold shoulder didn't happen during the camp. But then again, she hadn't interacted with the first years yet so maybe they'll be more vocal with their objection unlike the third years who seemed content of the situation.

She'd rather face an insult head on than have it fester behind her back and hearing Ryousuke's words gave her hope that she can build a strong relationship with the team. For her, the key for a good and stable relationship is communication.

"Um, I didn't know I was acting conceited Kominato-senpai. I assure you, I'm not planning to steal any positions in the field" Naoki said rubbing her neck as she thought of her position as practice member and her inadequacy in mental fortitude.

"So you are saying that even if you're a real member of the team, you will not compete with the others?" Ryousuke asks, hands folded in his back then he turned his back on her.

"How pitiful and disgusting. To waste such talent, don't you know how many players envy you? Tsk. Really, if that's your point of view then you shouldn't have taken baseball again" Ryousuke said before walking away. Naoki stared at him wide-eyed.

Somehow, she felt like a little sister being scolded by her big brother because she's not doing her best. She smiled softly at his back.

"Ah wait, he completely misunderstood my words or maybe it's my fault for saying too little?" she muttered after digesting his words into her head.

Mamoru barked.

Naoki turned her head in the direction of the sound and found him waiting for her at the side of the mound with the ball at his feet. He is sporting his signature Sammy smile. Naoki smiled in return.

"Ew, Mamo. Did you lick the ball? You're so gross" Naoki scolded without heat and hands on her hips while facing him.

He barked at her again.

Naoki grinned playfully. She skipped to his side and started rumpling his face, squeezing his cheeks and pulling his ears.

Mamoru whined, moving his head side to side trying to avoid her grasps. When the opportunity to flee presented itself, he took the chance and ran away from her.

"Mamo you coward" Naoki snickered. She gave one last look at the home plate before following Mamoru back to the dorm.

* * *

Naoki yawned while walking to the field. Some of the first strings are already there doing their warm-ups and although she's not participating in the scrimmage, coach Kataoka had required her to attend wearing the baseball uniform. She didn't know the reason behind it but she thought it wouldn't hurt watching the guys play especially since they are in their most exhausted state.

She was nearing the field when she saw in her periphery an upcoming bus. It seems the team they're up against has arrived. She squinted her eyes to read the name written on the front then her eyes widened in disbelief as the name registered.

"Really, he's such a dedicated person, and mean" Naoki murmured as the bus neared the building.

She took her cap off and ran her hand down her braided hair, finding them still damp from her shower. Even though it's just in the early morning Naoki tried to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles on her attire. She will be meeting one of the best coaches in her prefecture after all.

Naoki walks to the bus as it slows down to a halt. The door hissed when it opens and one by one, the players step out of the bus in their complete baseball uniform. Some of them laughing and chatting while the few ones who had stepped out are stretching their legs. All of them quieted as she neared, staring unabashedly in her direction.

"Boys, what's the sudden quietness all about?" a chubby man asks as he step down and noting the direction of their gaze, turns his head in order to discover what had taken their attention as well as their voice.

"Oh my, is that really you, Fujioka-chan?" Takahiro Matsumoto, coach of Osaka Kiryuu High's baseball team said in bewilderment. He didn't expect Naoki to be so far away from home and not to mention, also wearing a Seido baseball uniform.

"Coach, you know that pretty girl?" the team's captain, Shibata Kyouhei, asks behind him with an incredulous look.

"Yes, she's one of the two players I had personally invited nearly two years ago" Matsumoto answered as Naoki stops in front of him.

"Coach Takahiro, it's nice to see you again" Naoki greeted with a smile.

Matsumoto returned it with a smile and a nod, detecting a spark of life in her tone unlike the last time he talked to her on the phone regarding her decision to join.

 _"_ _I'm..sorry, coach. I-I'm..not playing…baseball. I can't anymore. I will be..a burden."_

He had understood at once then that no amount of words could persuade her. Her lifeless voice and her reasons were enough for him to conclude that the accident had caused a greater impact on her well-being than they had thought.

He had so much hope for the two: Naoko and Naoki, a combination that he knew without an ounce of doubt will guarantee them the national title, but unforeseen events had shattered such dreams and he was forced to give up not one but two amazing talents. The first, because of a life ended; the second; a broken spirit.

"I didn't know you'll be playing against Seido, what a surprise." Naoki stated ending with a little laugh.

 _"_ _But I wish I had been more persistent"_ Matsumoto thought, suppressing the urge to frown and feeling a bit peeved seeing Naoki wearing a baseball uniform after the years he had respected her decision not to join their team.

"Yes, a surprise indeed" Matsumoto agreed with a smile although he's aura is turning darker.

 _"_ _Ah, Kataoka-han, making me meet her. I shall do my best to defeat you"_

The players behind him shivered in fear, some backing away from his space while others paled. Naoki gave him a smile, oblivious to the change.

"Well, shall I escort you to the field?"

As Naoki started moving ahead of them, Kyouhei turned to their ace Tachi Hiromi to whisper his thoughts while following her.

"Ne, Tachi, Seido is quite lucky to have a girl on their team. Unfair don't you think so? Let's not hold back later. It's revenge for being blessed."

 _"_ _Boys can be petty sometimes"_ Naoki thought as she unintentionally overheard him. Then she remembered the name of the person he had talked to. She turned her head in the voice's direction.

"Tachi Hiromi?" she asks behind her and a guys with long lashes stared at her in astonishment.

"Eh? You know him?" he gasps as he pointed at his companion who ducked his head shyly.

"He-hello, Fujioka-chan" he greeted and suddenly showed her his smile.

 _"_ _Geh, looks like his smile leveled up in creepiness, eh?"_ Naoki laughed at him and at her thought. She slowed her pace to theirs, wanting to start a conversation with one of her senpai in junior high.

"Tachi-senpai, you've grown a lot. I honestly didn't recognize you" Naoki said with a smile, looking up to him who was reddening.

"Wah, Tachi why didn't you say you're acquainted? Ah, miss I'm Shibata Kyouhei, the team captain" he introduced after elbowing Hiromi in his side, giving Naoki a wide grin which she returned with a nod.

"I didn't know you're playing baseball again" Hiromi said beside her.

"Well, I realized how boring life is after I tried giving up baseball. Not to mention, the people around me are too annoying to deal with every day" Naoki reasoned with a smile.

"Ah, which reminds me, did you finally succeeded in becoming the ace?" she asks. Hiromi scratched his cheek as he nodded.

"Yep, Tachi here is the best. With his ability, we nearly conquered the summer national tournament" Kyouhei praised which further embarrassed Hiromi.

"Oh. Then I guess this will be a good practice match for my team, being against the runner up of the summer koshien, I mean" Naoki said with a grin.

"Fujioka-chan, are you playing?" Hiromi asks curiously. The group quieted down after hearing Hiromi's question even the coach, both curious of her answer.

"Nah, I'm just a practice member. I'm not allowed to play in official matches although I guess in scrimmages it's fine but the coach prohibited me to"

 _"_ _What a pity. She would have been a valuable member but I guess that's the reason why she's playing baseball again, huh. She's not completely recovered, isn't she Kataoka-han?"_ Matsumoto thought as they all entered the field.

"Haha, what a great loss! I'm sure you're good since the coach had personally invited you to join the team" Kyouhei exclaimed in a loud voice, oblivious to the fact that they had entered the field and the opposing team can hear him speak.

"Not really..well, I've got to go. Coach, Tachi-senpai." Naoki said giving the group a bow and jogs to Seido's dug-out.

"Woah, Fujioka-senpai, you know the Osaka Kiryuu's coach?"

"And quite comfortable with the team too."

These Naoki heard from Eijun and Youichi, respectively. She rubs her neck sheepishly and put her cap back on.

"Well, I do live in that prefecture.."

"What? I didn't know!" Eijun exclaimed with disbelief as the others stared at her wide-eyed. This is the first time they learned that she's from Osaka, even Kazuya who was in the middle of strapping his protector paused to give her an astonished look.

"Then it's true when one of them said you've been invited _personally_ by the coach to join the team?" Eijun asks. Naoki let out an awkward laugh as he stepped closer to her to the point that she's feeling suffocated.

"Yes, but it's all in the past, ah Sawamura-kun you're too near." Naoki said putting her palms in the air as a barrier. Youchi saw this and quickly grabbed Eijun by the neck and dragged him away from her while he protested.

 _"_ _Fujioka-chan is really amazing.."_ Haruichi thought in admiration.

"Now, now. Enough about me, let's focus on our enemy." Naoki steered as she turned her head to the two coaches in the middle exchanging papers of the list of players.

"Everyone, they'll be a tough one even more so now that we're all too tired because of camp." She said, crossing her arms and analyzing the players. Setting aside her initial interaction with them, she started thinking of their weaknesses but gave up instead. Her current information of the team is outdated, a junior high data specifically, and she knows that the team evolves every year so any information she can give to Seido is obsolete. Not that they needed it anyway since coach Kataoka plans to obliterate them.

"Don't worry woman, we can take them on" Isashiki growled as all the players returned the burning stares of the opposing team.

"Um, why do I have the feeling that they're staring at us vehemently not because of the match but because of something else?" Eijun voiced out his thoughts with furrowed brows and a troubled look.

"Yeah, but I can't point my finger as to what" Haruichi replied to him.

"Really?" Naoki asks, tilting her head to the side.

 _"_ _They noticed it too, huh?"_ Kazuya thought with a smirk, returning his gaze to the other dug-out in which the players' stare became much more heated.

 _"_ _Although I have an inkling what it's all about considering what I saw earlier"_ He added as he switched his stare to Naoki who is thinking deeply with her hand on her chin.

Kazuya had witnessed the way the team had enveloped Naoki as she chatted with whom he assumes is the captain of the team. He'd seen their flittering looks on her and couldn't help but frown at it. He also had the urge to walk up to them and drag her away willingly or not, fortunately before the desire could take a strong hold, Naoki had broken away from the group. The downside is, he felt irritated when she jogged to their dug-out wearing a smile.

"Ah, the coaches are talking longer than usual" Naoki observed out loud, causing the team to break their staring competition and turn their head to the coach's location.

"Yes, it doesn't look like there's a problem though" Chris said from his seat. He was correct.

The coach walks to the dug-out while signaling the players to line up on the field with the umpire already standing on the home plate waiting for them.

Naoki sat beside him as the match began while those who are not playing or in Eijun's case, not starting, stood to watch the game. She laughed quietly after hearing Eijun make sounds of restlessness and, probably frustrations as he watched Satoru took the mound instead of him.

She observed the play especially the battery between Satoru and Kazuya. Her smile quickly turned to a frown when Satoru's pitch was hit again and causes them another run. Just as she thought, Satoru needs ball control, if he had one, his pitches wouldn't be easily hit now that it lacks its usual strength.

As the opposing team's score went up again, Naoki felt her frustrations welled up inside. Her brows started furrowing, her lips sets on straight line, and her hands clenches on her lap. She narrowed her eyes at Satoru and then let it slide on Kazuya, noting his silent treatment as Satoru continues to get hits.

 _"_ _Naoki, calm down. No need to get so worked up. This is a practice match, I'm sure this is a lesson for that idiot"_ she thought, taking deep breaths to distract herself from her growing temper.

"Even with the fatigue, I didn't think he'd do this bad" Oota exclaimed in front of her. He turned to coach Kataoka, worried.

"Shouldn't we switch him out before he begins to doubt himself?" he asks the coach, greatly troubled.

 _"_ _Hmph, that only proves his incapability as a pitcher. To have a strong mental fortitude is one of the attributes of an effective pitcher and if he couldn't even have that, then he'll lose my respect."_ Naoki thought with bitter contempt, her temper not completely subsiding yet.

"Furuya's pitching until the fifth inning" coach Kataoka said without breaking from his seating stance; legs apart and arms crossed. Naoki's mouth twitched upward with his unconcerned look and she closed her eyes to keep from laughing out loud at the hopeless look and the gasps of disbelief that resulted after the coach's statement.

The coach can be brutal sometimes but it's for a good cause. This she knows very well; they had been on its receiving end when they were still children and amateurs in baseball.

Naoki bit her lip as her mirth turned to frustration as another pitch was hit. Fortunately, Ryousuke saved it and Youchi passed it to the first baseman, turning the game into a double play. She smiled at their save but frowned when her eyes landed on Satoru. Not even Eijun's boisterous praise could divert the souring temper growing inside her.

Naoki sported a frown as the team jogs back to the dug-out which Kazuya noticed immediately while Eijun is shaking him in the air after hearing him snicker at Satoru's situation.

"What's so funny about this game? Help him pitch like Chris-senpai would!" Eijun asks not in the least bothered of his show of disrespect to the second-year catcher.

"Wait. Why are you losing your temper? Didn't you want to switch with him a moment ago?"

"Uh..You're right!"

Kazuya laughed at Eijun's expression but his eyes strayed to Naoki whose frown had turned into an amused smile and had relaxed her stance after the exchange. He walks to the dug-out as Youichi ran to the batter's box for his at-bat. He sat beside her and unstrapped his knee protectors silently, suppressing the desire to talk to her, feeling that talking will release a dam he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Out!"

Kazuya heard Naoki sigh beside him and he glanced at her. His tongue is really itching to say something to her. Ah, to hell with it.

"This is the first time you've seen us play, isn't it?" he asks still bending and unstrapping. Naoki gave him a sidelong glance and returned her attention to the field. After a moment of silence, Kazuya let out a sigh, resigned to the notion that she's not going to speak. Surprisingly, she did.

"As of this moment, you guys are giving me a bad first impression. You suck." Naoki said and Kazuya blinked at her in surprise but then it gave way to a smirk when he realized she had spoken.

"Ahaha, well I agree in terms of pitching but in other areas? I think you're underestimating us, Fujioka-chan. See?" Kazuya said indicating with his head Ryousuke's clever play and Isashiki's bunt. He turned his head to her direction.

"Or maybe Furuya's pitching blinded you to that?" Kazuya asks curiously then grinned at her when he received an annoyed look.

"I admit Furuya's pitching is getting on my nerves and I guess I should have kept in mind that we're all exhausted because of the camp but old habits die hard." She muttered beside him which caused him to send her a questioning look.

 _"_ _Kichi, I can hit that easily. Where's your control? I thought you mastered it already." Naoko teased in the batter's box. Although it was delivered in a nonchalant tone, his physical appearance argues otherwise. Contrary to the image he's trying to portray, Naoko is sweating profusely after countless battings, finding it hard to hit his sister's pitches but too stubborn to tell her or even complement about it._

 _It can be hit so they mustn't stop yet._

 _"_ _Sorry. One last time?" Contrary to the apologizing tone she said, Naoki's countenance spoke of victory and a hint of mischief, grinning widely at her brother's fatigue._

 _"_ _Okay! Let's perfect this!" he shouted full of enthusiasm as he readied himself. Naoki's grin turned into a soft smile, seeing her brother's dedication and energy to be so bright and lively._

 _"_ _Hai hai! We mustn't settle for less, right?" she asks, saying the verse of their own brand of motivation with each other._

 _"_ _For we deserve more and we are more!"_

Naoki's eyes lowered after remembering that particular memory. Kazuya noticed the shift of the atmosphere, knowing without a glance that Naoki had closed herself from the outside, probably lost in another memory. Without knowing so, his hand had raised itself to touch Naoki's head but it froze in midair as Kazuya realized what he's doing.

He quickly took his hand away and used it to strap his protectors on again. He stood to get his head gear after noting that it was Tohru's turn to at-bat. He didn't give a backward glance at Naoki as he strode outside.

Kataoka followed his retreat with his eyes, being one of the people who had witnessed the conversation and had seen Kazuya's attempt to bring her back to reality, his split-second struggle to push through, and the rejection. He had noticed the seemingly open relationship the two have recently, the way the two exuded laid-back expressions when they are talking with each other, and of course, he had witnessed that one late evening in which their laughter mingled as Naoki tried to dance to Kazuya's tone.

 _"_ _Idiot! You said you're good at giving orders but right now you suck!" Naoki complained after failing to find a good move for his song._

 _"_ _And who forced me to do this? You, right? So, you have to make do." Kazuya scowled on his seat only for it to turn into a grin after Naoki sent him a scowl of her own._

 _"_ _Ahaha, you look funny! Hahaha!" Kazuya laughed when he saw her execute an awkward move. He doubled over and landed on the floor, laughing so hard that tears started forming on his eyes._

 _"_ _You know, Miyuki-kun, I recorded it. Wanna hear?"_

 _"…_ _kiri shinzou megake. Nigasanai paa to neraiuc-"_

 _"_ _Ah! Stop!"_

 _"_ _No!"_

Kataoka suppressed his smirk after remembering that event. He didn't think the two could be so unguarded with each other and it gave him hope that maybe it can help Naoki's recovery. But after seeing the apparent detachment of Kazuya, he is reconsidering his conclusion.

On the other hand, Chris who also witnessed it has a different thought on the matter. He saw Naoki enclose herself on a shell and the restraint Kazuya did not to break it. He shouldn't have such thoughts during a game but he can't help but smile at their relationship and the fact that he has a feeling it will create a huge impact in the future.


	8. Chapter 7

"I've warmed up plenty! Let me pitch, Shades-I mean, Coach!"

Naoki came back to reality after hearing Eijun's loud voice. She looked at the score board and found that they had lost a total of eleven runs in just four innings. She stared at it blankly not even able to summon a bit of anger. It is proof of the mental fatigue her recollection had caused her.

She didn't listen as the conversation between Eijun and the coach went on, her gaze settled on the field. She stared with lifeless eyes, switching them from player to player. Satoru's call for a time-out didn't even draw a reaction from her.

"Ahahaha.."

Naoki blinked as the haze disappeared and she can see clearly what is happening on the field, particularly on the mound. The person laughing was no other than Miyuki Kazuya.

"The idiot, what's so funny over there?" Naoki suddenly said which surprised the coach and the others more than Kazuya's somewhat crazy laughter. Her gloomy atmosphere disappeared as quickly as a poof of smoke, replaced by a calm visage and a smiling face. She stood from her place and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Idiots, if you discovered something act on it already. The inning is boring. Bo-ri-ng!" she shouted at the two.

 _"_ _Eh, you didn't even watch Fujioka-senpai."_ Haruichi thought although his face is set with a smile, finding her sudden change of mood refreshing.

* * *

Kazuya patted Satoru's shoulder after telling him what he needs to know to pitch well. He walked back to his position but with a sidelong look on the dug-out. He saw Naoki standing with her hands on her hips and with an alive look absent earlier in the game.

 _"_ _An improvement from her previous stance eh?"_ he thought with a grin. He bowed to the umpire and returned to his crouch.

Naoki released a relieved sigh after seeing that Satoru had saved himself from a pinch. She turned her eyes to Kazuya and smiled.

 _"_ _He said something that enabled Furuya to relax and pitch the pitch he is able to do in his current state"_ Naoki thought as she sat while the players returned to the dug-out.

"Now then, let's go score. All for a certain someone." Naoki heard Kazuya said as he walked out and proceeded to the batter's box. Satoru entered and sat beside her.

Naoki scowled when Kazuya hit the ball straight to the pitcher.

"He's so lame" Youichi said not far from her.

"That idiot" Rei muttered leaning on the wall.

"Miyuki does much better with runners on base" Chris said.

"He's too inconsistent" Rei replied back. Naoki snickered at this but it turned into a full blown laughter after hearing Eijun's proclamation of saving them with his batting when in fact, out of all of them he sucks the most.

Kazuya ran back to the dug-out with a sheepish grin.

"Let's go score, huh?" Naoki asks with a raised eyebrow as he sat beside her. He just gave her a grin. She sighed and returned her attention on the field.

"Good job with Furuya by the way" she said without looking at him.

"Hehe, it's not entirely on me since Furuya did the job well. All I did was tell him what he needed to know." Kazuya said while wiping his face with a towel.

"Hmm..the good job is still yours though since it might have been hard to break your own silence when Furuya-kun asked for an advice"

"Ahaha, you noticed eh? It was quite fun seeing him struggle" Kazuya whispered lest Satoru overhears him.

"I thought as much" Naoki again ended it with a sigh.

* * *

"Wh-why is he smiling?" Eijun asks when he saw Hiromi smiling creepily on the mound. Naoki tilted her head to Eijun's direction, not noticing Hiromi's smile yet. But when she turned her head to the mound and saw it, she paled.

"Gah!"

Everyone turned to the voice and found Naoki trembling on the bench. Kazuya stared at her, confused.

"I-I thought his e-earlier smile w-was creepy. Bu-but this?! Tachi-senpai is s-so.." Naoki stuttered and trailed. She slumped, giving up on looking at the mound.

"Are you okay, Fujioka-senpai?" Haruichi asks behind her. She raised her head, showing her tear streaming face.

"I'm not okay! Did you know that I froze the first time I saw that smile when I was in junior high? We lost the match because I nearly fainted at the batter's box! And to see it here again!...ah I'm glad I didn't join that team.." she trailed at the latter part while the others stared at her blankly. This is the first time they had heard her showcase a variety of emotions.

The silence was broken by Kazuya's burst of laughter.

"Y-you alm-ost fainted j-just by se-eing that s-smile?! Ahahaha" Kazuya whizzed in the middle of laughing. Naoki glared at him but switched it to the group when she heard an audible "pfft". She narrowed her eyes at them, seeing them trying to hide their faces from her view.

"This is not funny!" she grumbled which further heightened Kazuya's laughter. In her irritation, she used her foot to push him off the bench after she heard an out from the field.

"Oi, it's our turn now"

Push.

"Hahah-oof!"

"Ha! Serves you right"

Even after Naoki's push though Kazuya still retained his smirk as he stood up and dusted himself. He started walking to Satoru to tell him his plan when he heard Naoki call him.

"Ne, can you do me a favor? Please wipe that scary smile off his face."

Kazuya's smirk widened.

"That goes without saying"

Naoki smiled behind his back.

 _"_ _Bastard, so smug, but you haven't disappointed me yet."_ She thought as she softly stared at him.

* * *

 _"_ _Sorry Tachi-senpai. Better luck next time"_ Naoki silently apologized when she heard the umpire shouted a strike out. She smiled at Satoru and then at Kazuya. Little by little, he is proving her wrong. Showing her the strength and the potential of the pitcher. She turned her head to Eijun who was grumbling and patiently waiting for his turn.

 _"_ _Diamonds in the rough huh? I guess this team isn't so bad, after all."_

Naoki laid a hand on her chest where her heart is. Somehow, watching them play, her heart started aching. It's a different kind of ache, this hurt. So much different to the ache she feels when thinking about her brother. She grasps her shirt as the desire intensifies. This feels like a slowly kindling fire, a growing longing to be on the field and share the joy, the struggle.

The play.

"Do you want to play?"

Naoki stiffened at the heels of the unexpected question from the coach. She unclasps her hand and let it rest on her lap.

"Coach Matsumoto had expressed his wish to see you play and I didn't allow it, but if you wanted I can-"

"Coach, I'm fine" Naoki cut his words before he can finish it. Fearing that if he does voice out his consent, she may accept it. Her hands clenched on her lap. She's not ready.

 _"_ _I don't want to be a burden"_

Unspoken were the words hanging between them but clearly understood. Kataoka closed his eyes for a moments' reflection then he stood.

"Sawamura"

"Yosha!"

"Pitcher change!"

Naoki looked straight ahead, not even glancing at Eijun who grins as he runs to the mound. She's not ready.

 _"_ _I'm not ready to face you again, Naoko"_

She knows she's not ready, yet why does admitting that leaves a bitter taste in her mouth?

 _"_ _Looks like I'm the weaker one huh? In the end, the only person who disappointed me is me."_

* * *

Towards the conclusion of the Kiryuu match, Kazuya noticed the impenetrable silence Naoki shrouded like a cloak on herself. A kind of visible isolation wholly familiar to his senses. A kind in which despite various attempts to a conversation it is still fruitless. Why? Because the person is too lost in himself to even care about others, say for example, his son perhaps?

The match ended in Kiryuu's favor. Having fourteen runs overall, they completely obliterated Seido who only got seven runs. Not a bad score considering their current condition.

Kazuya watches as his teammates bid farewell to the Kiryuu team. He casted his eyes to the side, looking for Naoki. He thought she'd be here since she seemed comfortable with their company earlier but she's not. An absence Kataoka had noted as well.

Naoki is also absent during dinner. A fact every person in the hall is keen to comment about except Satoru and Eijun who are too distracted to notice what's happening around them.

"Oi, Miyuki. Where's that woman? Did you two have a lover's quarrel or something?"

"H-Ha?" Kazuya's chopsticks paused in the air as its owner gaped at Isashiki after his bold question.

He should have been more alert. This is actually the third time Kazuya was asked about Naoki albeit, phrased differently. But then again he couldn't possibly prepare himself when the upperclassmen abruptly arrived at his side and released the bomb.

"Nyahaha, Jun-san you struck him speechless" Youichi laughed in front of him. Isashiki scratched his cheek, a look of confusion evident in his face.

"Well, it's true isn't it? I mean, the two of you are pretty close" Isashiki said with furrowed brows. Kazuya's eyes widened and he looked down, feeling flustered. Is this what the others also see? Then he laughed.

"Jun-san, we don't have that kind of relationship and I don't know where she is or what happened to her" Kazuya said after laughing. All the while, Isashiki scowled at him, irritated with his laughter.

"Hmph, if you say so.." He grumbled and returned to his table.

Youichi stared at him for a few minutes, watching as Kazuya continues his eating.

"What?"

"So the two of you are not in a relationship?" Youichi asks seriously which caused Kazuya to raise an eyebrow.

"Yes"

"Then I guess I can ask her out without worry eh?"

Kazuya turned rigid in his seat.

* * *

 _"_ _I don't care. Shouldn't you be asking her that?"_

Youichi can't suppress himself anymore so he let go of the grin he was trying to hide earlier. He is currently at the outside of the dorm with his bat for his nightly batting practice. He hadn't started yet since he was too busy recalling Kazuya's reaction to his plan.

"Heh, bastard, trying to deny it but still so transparent" Youichi snickered remembering the subtle stiffening of Kazuya's fingers after hearing him. The forced smile and the unmistakable annoyance in his tone as he replied.

"Kekeke, this is going to be fun" Youichi snickered again. Then he noticed a figure in the distance.

"Fujioka-chan? What are you doing?" He asks as Naoki neared him. She looked haggard and sluggish. As if she's been running on a marathon. A very long one.

"Good evening, Kuramochi-kun. I was just running around and cooling my head. I didn't know I was already far from the school so as you can see, I'm quite run-down" she explained softly with a small laugh at the end, amused by her own idiocy. She tucks a stray strand blocking her left eye.

"Kuramochi-kun, can I ask a question?"

"Huh? Ah, sure"

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

"Hmm, as far as I can remember, I always do the things I like to do. That's why I get scolded a lot by grandpa, hehe." Youichi said with a chuckle as he rubs his neck sheepishly. He stopped when he saw her bitter smile.

"I'm-I'm sorry, I wasn't a bit helpful was I?" He apologized when the silence thickened between them. Youichi gaze at her, seeing the gravity of the situation. The seriousness she oozes and the fragility of the moment.

"I think you should ask that question to Chris-senpai. You see, he might be the only person here who can deeply empathize with your feelings" Youichi added which earned him a reaction as he'd hoped.

"Chris-senpai?" Naoki blinked at him. Youichi blew out a breath. It's not like Chis-senpai's situation is a secret, they just don't want to talk about it.

"Well, initially he's not our manager…"

* * *

Kazuya was planning on a batting practice tonight. Preferably at the outside since the indoor practice ground is already full when he took a peek after he finished eating dinner. In truth, the reason behind his desire to practice is not because of excess energy from this morning's scrimmage but because of his growing frustration. He wants to vent it out of his system. It didn't help that the factor for its exponential growth came from hearing Youichi's words.

He grabbed his bat and leisurely walks to the entrance of the dorm. He halted in his steps when he spotted two figures talking closely. Kazuya tightened his hold on his bat as he recognized them: Naoki and Youichi. Without thinking, he hid himself at the nearest hiding spot to the two's location. Unfortunately, all he heard were murmurs of the conversation, their voices too low for it to carry through considerable distance from them to him.

 _"_ _Is he asking her out?"_ Kazuya's thoughts came unbidden and strangely unsurprising. He narrowed his eyes as he digested the thought and he compares it to the current mood surrounding the two.

 _"_ _No, he's not"_ he concluded, relieved. He doesn't know what to do if he learns Youichi pushes through his bluff. Yes, he knew instantly that it was a bluff the moment it left Youichi's lips. The fact that Youichi doesn't have the guts to ask a girl out, he also doesn't care to get permission on someone to do that. He's the kind who likes to do the things he wanted with or without a person's consent. Still, knowing it was nothing short of a pretense doesn't mean he can control his reaction, and reacted he did. He just hopes Youichi wasn't looking at him closely.

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

Kazuya's ears lengthened when he heard Naoki asks Youichi. He didn't catch Youichi's reply but there's no need though because the question had lodge itself in his mind, occupying what little space it could find just to be retained and be dissected.

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

He straightened from his leaning position on the wall he's hiding on. He took the bat he'd set beside him and started walking to the indoor practice ground. Tonight, it may be crowded inside but he'll take the chance. At his state, he may not focus fully.

Kazuya sighed.

"I have" He said out loud, answering the question still circling in his mind.

 _…_ _but you can't…_

"I can't.." he muttered, then his lips turned upwards, forming a smirk.

 _Damp hair. Crescent lids. Rosy red lips._

* * *

The last day of the weeklong summer camp is going to end with a round robin between Seido, Inashiro, and Shukoku. The current match is between Seido and Inashiro, Seido's longtime rival. According to what she heard from Rei, another school, Ichidai High, and Inashiro are two schools which have been robbing Seido the chance to go to the Nationals.

It's also the second day that she hadn't done any hard training therefore, her energy started returning to normal. She started feeling the ache that morning when she woke up, and Naoki winced in remembrance at how much she had pushed her body that week. Ache aside, her body is settling well, now that it went under rigorous training. She can safely say she can compete with the first string with their monster stamina.

"Hmm, so this is Inashiro huh?" Naoki muttered, letting her thoughts slide as she observes the play outside the fence near their dug-out. She's not wearing her uniform since she's been given a chance by the coach to rest to return her energy equilibrium to normal, at the same time, she's not playing anyway. Besides that, she'll be somewhere for the remainder of the day.

Mamoru barked beside her and she looked down to him. He was looking at something from her left.

"Idiot!" Naoki heard Youichi growled. She turned her head and saw him kick Eijun while Tohru drags him out of the field.

Naoki walked up to them.

"What happened?" She asks as she neared with a leashed Mamoru. Youichi glared at Eijun with his hands on his hips.

"This baka just don't understand why coach let's Kawakami play even though he's exhausted" Youichi explained while Tohru let Eijun go.

"But the other team is strong so I have to go there!" Eijun said with determination.

"Sawamura-kun, haven't you noticed that majority of the players on the field are not starting players?" Naoki told him. He stared at her in disbelief and turns to the field to confirm her words.

"Only fools show their entire hand when the season hasn't started yet" she continued.

"Woah! A lot of thought were spent to this?" Eijun said, amazed.

"Yes, so if you're still frustrated go run laps at the other field." She advised as she patted his shoulders.

"Or better yet, why don't you take this opportunity to analyze the enemy? You might learn something useful for when we face them at the tournament" she added with a smile. Eijun recovered from his slump, taken by the idea.

"Yosh! I'll do that! Thanks Fujioka-senpai!" Eijun exclaimed and he ran back to the dug-out, excited. Tohru sighed and followed him.

"I don't think he can do it though" Youichi muttered and he snickered as he visualized Eijun trying to be observant.

"At least it would distract him" Naoki said with a small laugh. Youichi stared at her for a while.

"Have you talked to him?" he asks. Naoki quieted and shook her head.

"No, I couldn't find the time" Naoki said quietly.

"Well, there's no rush, I guess."

Silence filled the air, broken only by the rustle Mamoru makes for not staying still. Then her phone vibrated in her pocket.

"Gotta go, bye" she told him after reading the message she received.

"Ah, wait! Where are you going?" Youichi asks when she turned away from him. She paused.

"Just out there" she said vaguely and with a smile.

Youichi watches her go. He put a hand under his chin and thought of the places she could go to with her pet. But gave up when his head started aching. He may not have an idea where she's going, nevertheless, another thought came to him. He grinned.

* * *

Kazuya stared at Eijun curiously. He is acting strange with his sudden quietness. Not only that, he's staring intensely at the field.

"Oi, what are you doing Sawamura?" Kazuya asks but Eijun ignored him.

"Kekeke, he's doing what Fujioka told him to" Youich snickered after he returned. He sat at the back bench.

"Fujioka was here?" Kazuya asks in surprise. He hadn't seen her since last night. She was also absent at breakfast. What is she doing?

"Yep, she just passed by to say she's going somewhere probably on a date" Youichi said casually as he leaned. Kazuya narrowed his eyes.

"I mean, she looks like she's going in one. Right, Masuko-san?" He said and Tohru nodded hesitantly.

Kazuya frowned at the front, displeased as the thought settled. It was just a guess from Youichi but it still left a bad taste. There's still the possibility that she's just doing something normal.

Behind him, Youichi is smirking gleefully.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! I want you guys to know I'll be updating Game Changer every 2 weeks starting today. This will be finished but, it's just going to be slower. Thank you for the continued support. I do hope you'll stick with me until the end. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hmm, Kichi. What position do you want to play?" Naoko asks her while walking home from school.

Tomorrow, they'll be allowed to play officially in the baseball team of their school and it saddens Naoki that they will not be together in one team.

Naoko stopped in front of her and flicks her forehead.

"Ouch!" She grumbled, rubbing her forehead.

"Kichi, you're sad again about not being together, aren't you?"

"But, I like it when you're with me while playing" Naoki pouted which earned her a ruffle by Naoko.

"Ba-ka. I am with you even though I'm not physically there. We're twins, aren't we? We have a connection no amount of physical distance can break. Or maybe you're just feeling insecure?" He teased at her. Naoki scowled at him.

"Kochi, why would I be insecure? We started baseball together, mastered the same techniques. I can safely say I'm on par with the so-called 'Genius Pitcher of Osaka'" she said haughtily, quoting the title their coach had labelled on Naoko the first time he saw him play. Naoko laughed at her.

"Of course, chibi prodigy" Naoko agreed, citing her own unique one.

"You know, Kichi. You are me and I am you. So even if I die, I'll forever be with you even if you don't want me to" Naoko said, pulling a scary face.

Smack.

"Ow!"

"Naoko, don't bring death in this conversation!"

Naoko rubbed the side of his head, the spot Naoki had hit. His expression turned serious.

"But really Naoki, if one day I die before you. I will always be with you, so don't forget me, okay?"

Naoki smiled.

"Naoko, we're twins remember? I think not even death could tear us apart" she said so sure of herself and innocently she hoped as they entered the baseball team the next day; Naoko as pitcher and Naoki as shortstop in their respective teams.

But death did sever their bond.

Naoki slowly opened her eyes, focusing on the dark ceiling. It took her a moment to remember where she is and what she's currently doing. She pulled herself up to a sitting position from the comfortable settee she'd been laying on as she dreams.

"Oh, you're awake." Naoki looked up to the voice and saw a woman sitting on a chair not far from her.

"Yes Midori-san, and surprise, no tears" she replies softly to the woman.

"Well, I must say that's an improvement!" Midori said cheerfully, clapping her hands quietly.

"It seems your father's method is much more effective than mine's to get this result " She told her as she stood and neared Naoki. She sat beside her.

"How are you feeling?" She asks, staring at her softly.

"Melancholic, nostalgic" Naoki sighed.

"If it's okay with you, will you tell me what it's all about?" Midori said carefully. Naoki composed herself, trying to look for words. Where to start?

"I guess I was asking too much right after you just came back to resume our session." She told Naoki, nodding her head in understanding. Midori stood to take her notebook from her table when she heard Naoki mutter. She paused as surprise passed on her features.

"Naoki-chan, did you say something?" She asks, turning to face her. Naoki took a deep breath and clears her throat.

"This time, it was all about the day before we join the baseball club in junior high" Naoki said clearly which surprises Midori again. She sat back beside her and listened as Naoki poured her thoughts.

"He encouraged me since I was sad we'll be separated and he talked about our twin connection. He told me he will always be here because he is me and I am him" Naoki ends her sentence with a sniffle. Midori gave her a pat while noting Naoki's glassy eyes. But despite the indication of tears, no drops left her eyes. She will not let herself cry again.

Midori smiled despite the gloomy atmosphere. As Naoki's psychologist, she deemed this openness a sign of progress. Naoki had been so down after Naoko's death, barely eating her meals and always staring into space. She also had spontaneous bursting of tears but what was most dangerous of all was her lack of will to live. Once, she was nearly ran over by a truck because she didn't see the changing traffic lights. She was scolded but it didn't bother her at all.

In her parents' desperation, they put their trust on her emotional well-being or lack of into Midori's hands. It was difficult, the first few months with Naoki. She rarely reacts to Midori's counseling, and sessions like the one they have now always ends with Naoki crying uncontrollably.

The truth is, Midori nearly gave up on her. She had thought it was really over, that Naoki finally surrendered to despair after the last session they had five months ago in which she expressed adamantly that she will not come back any longer.

To say Midori was surprised to see her in her office this morning was an understatement. Then came relief, it means Naoki still has some fight left in her or maybe playing baseball again lit that fire.

 _"_ _Midori-san, I'm going to make her play baseball. I think it's time she faces her inner demons"_

It's a good thing she approved Ren's decision to introduce her again to baseball. Although she was surprised to hear him plan an aggressive approach but she guessed desperate times calls for desperate measures.

"Ne, Midori-san, did you know that the first position we took is far from what we like?" Naoki said with a small laugh which caused Midori again to be stunned. Naoki laughed in her office, unbelievable. Midori shook her head, focusing on the question.

"No, what is it?"

Naoki leaned. A fond smile forming in her lips as she remembered the untainted past.

"He likes to play as a fielder but he chose pitching and I like to pitch but chose shortstop, an infielder position, instead. Ironic, isn't it?" Naoki said softly, fiddling with her fingers.

"But by next year, we changed our positions again. Actually, we planned to be all-around players and we successfully did it, much to the chagrin of our coaches"

"My, what mischievous children you two have been" Midori said with a small laugh.

Midori patted Naoki's hands when she quieted.

"Memories are fun to reminisce, aren't they? Sometimes, they also send messages and hints for us to decipher" Midori said and Naoki looked up to her.

"Don't run away from them, Naoki-chan"

 _"_ _Naoki! Give me your best pitch!"_

 _Tinkling laughter followed from the end of the diamond. Naoko grinned at her as he positioned himself._

"Then, what if they will be a burden? What if seeing them, no, facing them incapacitates me? What then?"

Midori stared at her for a long time. Thinking about the question and eliminating answers. After a minute, she sighed and gave her a determined look.

"Naoki-chan, I can't give you a satisfactory answer as your psychologist-"

Naoki turned her head in disappointment.

"But as a friend, what I can say is: conquer them. Break the wall of the past and let yourself step on the present and the future"

Naoki's eyes widened and she whipped her head to stare at Midori fully. Midori smiled and patted her hand.

"Don't cage yourself"

* * *

"So, how did it go?"

Naoki looked up from her sitting position. After her session with Midori she decided to wait for her father at the park near her psychologist's building. It's quiet, serene, and only a few people ever visit, an ideal place for self-reflection, one she badly needs after what Midori had told her.

"She told me not to cage myself" she said to her father as he stood in front of her, smiling.

"Hmm, and what does it feel after hearing it?"

Naoki stood and dusted herself. She heard a bark from her left and a moment later, she saw Mamoru ran up to her with her mother trailing closely behind. She petted Mamoru as he stopped beside her.

"It was strangely liberating" she said to her father without looking up. Ren gaped at her and at the smile she wore as she ruffled Mamoru's fur. He felt a hand clasps his. It's his wife and she's wiping the sides of her eyes as hope fluttered in her chest after hearing the words from her daughter. She laid her head on Ren's shoulder and they both gazed at Naoki, finding for the first time in more than a year that all is well.

* * *

"So, how are you finding Seido?" Ren asked while they were having lunch outside.

"Seido is fun. The baseball team is really competitive and hardworking. Not only that, uncle is also strict especially during the summer camp" Naoki narrated after finishing her bowl of rice. She called for a waiter and asks for another bowl of rice.

"D-dear, are you sure you can eat it all?" Her mother said worriedly. Ren laughed at Mei's troubled expression which caused her to glare at him.

"It's fine, darling. That's what happened to me while I was a member there too. As a matter of fact, eating three bowls of rice already became a habit" Ren assured and to prove his words, he also called for a waiter for another helping.

"Jeez, now I'll have to cook twice as much at home because you'll not be the only one hogging it all down, Naoki-chan too" Mei pouted beside him. Naoki giggled as the two started teasing each other. She sighed contentedly.

It's been long since she had let herself be carried away by their moments. The days after Naoko died she felt despair but as it faded, guilt took its place. She had thought that it wasn't fair for her to live while he is gone. To laugh at their table when once upon a time, he too had been there, sitting beside her and laughing so hard he'd frequently fall to the floor. But little by little, she had come to accept that those moments are now memories and she shouldn't let them dictate her life. It is a very slow process but the important thing is she's moving.

"Naoki-chan?"

"Naoki, what's wrong?"

Naoki looked up and into the worried gazes of her parents; a teardrop landed on her fisted hand situated on her lap.

"I was just thinking that Naoko must be laughing so hard while he watches over us" she said, suppressing a sniffle and wiping her eye. She gave them a smile so full of heartache yet alive that they couldn't help but smile in return.

"Yes, that little misfit must be having a good time watching us make a lot of fuss over a bowl of rice" Ren said as he felt tears welled up. Mei bowed her head and her shoulders shook. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

Naoki closed her eyes and raised her head to the sky.

 _"_ _Don't cage yourself."_

 _"_ _Do you want to play?"_

 _"_ _Naoki, I'll blew it out of the park!"_

She doesn't want to run away anymore.

"Ne, father, can I ask for a favor?"

* * *

Naoki put Mamoru's dog food in his bowl and refilled his water outside her room.

"There, Mamo, have your own dinner while I go to mine" she said, crouching in front of him. He whimpered when he realized that she's not bringing him to the hall to help her eat her share of food again. She patted his head and told him to be a good boy before going to the dining hall for dinner.

Naoki entered and found the hall to be unusually quiet. There were no rowdy laughter or shouting, and she could see some shoulders slumping. The silence though, is much more evident among the third years.

"Did something bad happened?" She asks, sitting on Youichi and Kazuya's table after getting her food. The former glanced at her direction in acknowledgement but the latter ignored her. She can't say he didn't hear her since she sat beside him when she asked. She thought back to the previous days and surmised that she hadn't done anything insulting, except for uttering 'neraiuchi' but that surely doesn't count, does it?

"There was an accident and Tanba-san-" Youichi started across her.

 _"_ _Naoki, there's an accident. Naoko, he's…"_

"Nothing life-threatening, I hope"

Kazuya was planning on ignoring Naoki. He was annoyed at the prospect of her dating someone and he's even more annoyed by the fact that he's annoyed. Kazuya admits he likes Naoki, he knew that after spending time with her the night he saw her dance but to the point that he acts in the most unusual way concerning her? He finds it dangerous. He's becoming a mess, all because of her so he decided to avoid her while he's sorting his feelings. Unfortunately, she chose to sat beside him and he can't execute an escape else Youichi will notice it.

He had steeled himself yet noticing the clenching of her hands as she heard Youichi narrate what happened to Tanba, he felt himself worry. She's remembering her brother's accident and he confirmed it at the words she offered regarding Tanba's condition.

"He's alive but injured" Kazuya said before Youichi could respond to Naoki.

Kazuya put his bowl down and turned slightly to face her. He looked at her in the eyes.

"Don't worry"

Naoki returned his stare and she saw that he knows and understands where those words came from. He's giving her an assurance that it's not a tragedy.

Naoki's fear-stained eyes crinkles and it gave way to relief. Her downturned lips slowly tilted up and she said the words that spoke of a different meaning only Kazuya will understand.

Bathump.

 _"_ _Ah, damn"_ He thought without heat as he gazed at Naoki's smile.

"Thank you, Miyuki-kun"

 _"_ _Really, these two are in a totally different world when they're talking to each other"_ Youichi thought while eating his rice, his eyes switching between the two as they completely forgot he's there, opening a conversation in low murmurs and ever so subtly moving their chairs near. Youichi guessed this is done unconsciously since they are too absorbed with their talk.

 _"_ _Haven't they noticed their shoulders are touching?"_ Youichi thought, finishing his meal. He stood and opened his mouth to tell them he'll be going ahead but paused and thought better of it. They wouldn't hear him, anyway.

"Tch, lucky bastard" Youichi grumbled when he was far from them.

He can't help but be jealous of Kazuya. The only girl in the team and he seemed to have already caught her. Lucky, indeed. Youichi's consolation would be the fact that Kazuya is not the type to play with girls or even interact with them outside the classroom. Just like the other members, he doesn't have a girlfriend. He's doesn't entertain the idea of having one. He completely devotes his time to baseball. Which is why it stings the most because he isn't looking for one, yet fate is introducing him to a possible one.

"Not only that, a baseball player too." Youichi scowled as he entered his shared room.

"Huh? What are you saying?" Eijun asks on the floor with his phone, he was in the midst of texting Wakana about his current status. An angry mark appeared on Youichi's head.

"Eh, is that Wakana, huh?!" He growled, attacking Eijun in a headlock. Eijun tried unsuccessfully to get him off and Youichi tightened his grip further.

 _"_ _So unfair"_

* * *

"Everyone is on low spirits huh" Naoki said after Kazuya told her all about the accident which cracked Tanba's chin.

"Yeah, it's the third years who are affected the most. Meanwhile, unlike the others you seem to be in high spirits. Did you enjoy your date that much?" Kazuya asked casually as he leaned on his seat.

"Where did you hear that?" Naoki paused from eating to give him a wide-eyed stare full of disbelief.

"From Youichi. So you weren't?"

"Of course not. I was spending my day with my parents. But then again, I didn't tell him exactly so I guess it's my fault" she grumbled at the end, a small pout forming from her lips.

Kazuya snickered, half laughing at her own aggravation and the other half is undeniable relief at the fact she's not going out with someone. He still has a chance.

 _"_ _A chance for what?"_ He thought inwardly. Caught off guard with his line of thinking. He's not planning to court her, is he?

 _"_ _That's completely absurd, besides I don't have time for it. The summer tournament is in just a few days and I can't afford to be distracted"_ Kazuya's mouth formed into a thin line and he abruptly stood.

"I've got to go" He said, taking his tray and leaving Naoki without hearing her reply.

"O….kay" she muttered as Kazuya disappeared. She looked at her food weirdly and unconsciously rubbed the side of her chest, the spot where her heart is.

"That was rude" she whispered as she resumes eating, only to find out she'd lost her appetite.

He ignored her the first time and after he did talk to her, he abruptly left. What kind of manners are those? And why is she so frustrated and hurt about it? It's not like it's the first time a person did that to her. She thought they were already friends but base on his actions, it's as if they're not. It's as if she's an annoyance he doesn't want to deal with.

"Ah, Fujioka-chan, you're back" Rei said smiling and stopping at Naoki's table.

"Oh, hi Takashima-san. What are you doing?" Naoki asks as she returned the smile.

"I'm just taking something here and then I'll be back in the office" Rei said and she saw Naoki ponder on her seat.

"Um..Takashima-san..I'd like to ask..um"

"Hmm, what is it? Is something bothering you?"

Naoki bit her lower lip. She's finding it hard to ask Rei a question concerning Kazuya. She felt it was inappropriate to ask her although it seemed a nice idea for her when she saw Rei enter. Rei clearly sees her hesitant look and opened her mouth to give Naoki another reassurance but she spoke first.

"Never mind, Takashima-san, maybe next time"

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes"

In the end, Naoki couldn't do it. She sighed in her seat. Another problem on her list, eh? But nothing takes priority than her self right now so any troubles to fix will have to take a backseat.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious, right, Miyuki-kun?" She whispered in the air.


	10. Chapter 9

He's back to ignoring her, well not exactly ignoring her, more like evading her, Kazuya just decided to limit his interaction with her. An answer-if-asked-to-and-quiet-if-not attitude, so to speak. Which is why he could feel his back burning from her stare while classes are ongoing. He had a mind of turning from his seat and grinning at her or something but he reminded himself that he is ignoring her. Ig-no-ring her.

Naoki glared at Kazuya. If only glares could kill, he would be dead by now. The bastard is avoiding her like the plague. She'd been trying to start a conversation since breakfast, before class and during lunch. The first, he sat at a different table, the second he almost came late, and the last he went out of the room before she could call his name. Which apparently is a rare occurrence. So rare in fact that people are starting to talk and asking her, of all people, what is wrong with Miyuki-kun and if she passes the question to Youichi, he would just snicker at her and at them. As if implying that he's the only one privy to a joke.

In her annoyance at the current situation, Naoki did something so unlike her current self but a mirror of her past.

She leaned towards Kazuya's back and targeted the spot at the back of his neck where she knows is sensitive part of the human body. She blew a breath.

"Aah!"

Every person in the room turned to the noise and saw a flushed Kazuya rubbing his neck.

"Miyuki-kun, by any chance did you discover something _significant_ in today's topic?" The teacher asked at the front with a frown. Kazuya released a nervous laugh.

"N-no sir"

"Very well. If you discover something insignificant next time, please do refrain from disrupting the class" the teacher scolded as he turned to continue writing on the board.

Kazuya turned his head at the back and glared at Naoki who was humming innocently and looking at anywhere other than him. If he wasn't the victim, he'd believe her act of nonchalance but he was at its receiving end so it was pointless to pretend. Not only that, she was also wearing a satisfied little smirk.

Kazuya turned his head back to the front. Then he hid his mouth using the back of his hand. Damn, why is he grinning after what she did?

 _"_ _Heh, and I thought they were going to fight."_ Youichi thought with annoyance at the other side of the room. He hadn't witnessed how it happened but he stuck close enough to see the two grinning.

 _"_ _Tch. Flirting even inside the classroom. Idiots"_ Youichi smirks despite his initial annoyance. It seems the two are proving to be a good source of entertainment.

* * *

Gloomy.

Everything suddenly became gloomy as the first set of raindrops patters on the window. Naoki observes each falling drop, noting the races between countless others to the edge, and wondering how such a natural occurrence can be so similar to a human's tears.

Naoki sighed in relief when she heard the bell ring, indicating that class is over. A flurry of movement commences after the bell ended and students slowly flowed out of the room, some in a hurry while others took their time languidly in concert to the cool ambience generated by the rain. Naoki on the other hand, let her head fall to the desk as she stared at the gray sky. She loves the sunshine but there's something special with the rain.

It's not always associated with sadness or loneliness, emotions commonly viewed when it rains. Sometimes and mostly overlooked, it can also speak about new beginnings, giving way for a new path to trudge as it washes away old tracks.

Naoki closed her eyes in contentment when she felt the wind enter and caress her face through a small gap at the window's edge. It was cold and it contained a fresh scent of the wetted earth.

In her enjoyment, she had forgotten to enact her plan of ambushing Kazuya and thus, he was able to get out of the room without any commotion coming from her. Fortunately for her, he had also forgotten his resolve to not talk to her when he realized she was not acting typically. Kazuya went back to the room to conduct a quick check-up on her only to find Naoki alone and doing the most unusual thing.

"Heh, sleeping? I should have known" Kazuya muttered and he smiled softly as he stood beside Naoki's table. She too was smiling in her sleep.

Kazuya silently sat on the side of his chair, twisting his upper torso to face her sleeping form. He laid his chin on his crossed arms at the top of the backrest and he stared at her softly, watching how the strands of her hair dances slightly to the winds lingering touch. How she looks heavenly as she sleeps with lips still pinkish despite the temperature.

He leaned, drawn like a magnet to those kissable lips.

Creak.

He stiffened when he heard his chair squeak from his movements. He righted the angle of the chair and stood, relieved that he hadn't woken Naoki to the noise. Kazuya rubbed his head in indecision. Should he leave her here or wake her up? The answer was obvious.

"Fujioka, wake up, we have to meet up with the team" Kazuya said softly as he shook Naoki. She groaned and fluttered her eyes open. She looked up with droopy eyes and a little yawn. Kazuya suppressed his smile. She was adorable.

"Mi-yuki-kun? Oh, I fell asleep" she whispered, rubbing her eyes.

"Let's go. Today we'll know the brackets for the summer tournament" Kazuya murmured near her as he helped her clean up her things.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you" she mumbles, still half-awake while Kazuya did all the work.

He slung Naoki's bag and carried his on his other hand.

"Let's go?"

"Hmmhm.."

Naoki followed closely behind Kazuya, still in a daze as she stared at his back.

 _"_ _I want a hug"_ she suddenly thought and without thinking she flung herself at Kazuya. Unfortunately, before it happened, she stumbles in her step and smacks Kazuya's back with her head. He twisted his body in surprise as he lurched forward due to the push but he did not have enough time to absorb the impact and this caused his feet to slip.

"Aah—oof!"

Kazuya grunted as his butt ached from the fall. Naoki, on the other hand, winced as her hands tingled and her knees stung from landing to the floor. The pain caused her hazy mind to clear and she opened her eyes, completely wide awake. The first thing she saw were the colors white and blue. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes showed confusion, her mind still slow in processing the information it receives, then it moves up only to be caught in a web of enchantment that is brown, a pair of brown orbs specifically.

Her lips parted in awe and she stared at it some more but it started moving restlessly to the sides.

"M-my glas..ses.."

Naoki heard Kazuya stutter in a breathless whisper. Naoki gasps and her eyes widened upon realization of the near touching distance between her and Kazuya. Her chest is only an inch away from his while their noses can easily form a bridge with only a nudge forward. She quickly stood and backed away, her face reddening at her previously unabashed actions. She fiddles with her fingers as she observes Kazuya at the floor. His eyes are hidden by his bangs and his nimble fingers grasps the handle of his glasses located to the side where it landed, thankfully, unharmed.

"I'm sorry, Miyuki" she apologized, deeply troubled as Kazuya stood and dusted himself before putting his glasses back on. He remained quiet. Naoki started panicking.

"Miyuki-kun, really, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Pfft"

Naoki halted her apology after hearing him unsuccessfully suppress his laughter. Finding that it was already fruitless to pretend being angry, Kazuya let out a full blown laughter. Naoki glared as he continues, this time holding his aching stomach and trying to wipe the teardrops from his eyes. He slowed down his laughter, and took deep breaths to calm himself.

He grins at Naoki widely.

"That's payback for earlier" he said.

 _"_ _Although that wasn't much of a payback but for now, I'll settle for that"_ he added silently while Naoki scowled at him.

"Well, it's your fault for avoiding me" she said with narrowed eyes that says she's daring him to dispute her words.

"Why are you so mad about it?" he asks, having the urge to clear things once and for all.

"I-I thought you are-"

"A friend?" Kazuya guessed as an unfamiliar ache lodges itself in his chest. His earlier enthusiasm lost.

 _"_ _I don't want to be your friend"_ the words he wanted to say, yet he doesn't know why.

"I'm not." Kazuya said instead, regretting the words in an instant when he saw the hurt that flashed in Naoki's eyes but he can't take that back now. What it is he's feeling isn't as important as baseball. Frankly, he doesn't want to even identify the feeling Naoki evokes in him.

Kazuya turned his back on her while she stood speechless, shocked with his denial. He took his bag and walked away from her

 _"_ _Rain washes everything…..even a relationship"_ she thought sadly, watching Kazuya's back becomes smaller as the distance grows wider.

 _"_ _I want something more"_

But what? This, Kazuya is afraid to discover.

His grip tightened.

* * *

Naoki didn't attend the meeting at the indoor practice ground. She went to her room and laid down in her bed. She turned to her side, thinking and reflecting on what happened this afternoon between her and Kazuya.

Truth be told, she was relieved it was Kazuya who uttered the word 'friend' for her. She wasn't so sure she even wanted to say it in the first place. At this moment, she's still undecided about what she wanted.

Naoki sighed on her pillow.

She couldn't get the situation out of her mind, and she's confused.

What's going to happen now?

She still wanted to talk to him but it appears he doesn't want the same thing.

What did she do to alienate him from her?

"Or maybe it was just me who thought he and I were more than acquaintances from the start" she muttered to herself.

"Miyuki Kazuya"

She sighed again.

Naoki fell asleep after thinking too much about him and everything that led to the current disaster. A disaster she's willing to fix; she just needs some time to figure how.

* * *

Knock, knock.

"Fujioka-senpai?"

Naoki woke after two consecutive knocks and a muffled voice calling out her name. She ruffled her disheveled hair and tried to straighten her uniform rumpled from sleep.

"Who?" She asks as she stood and walked to the door to open it.

"Ah, Fuji-" Satoru started.

Bark.

Oh, right.

Naoki laughed, she was so lost in thoughts of Kazuya that she forgot to leave her door slightly ajar for Mamoru to enter her room. He probably nudged it repeatedly and when it didn't open, he went and dragged someone to call her.

"Sorry, Mamo." She apologized as she crouched and rubbed his face. He tilted his head to the side and broke from her grasps to enter her room. Naoki smiled at Satoru as she stood.

"I apologize for the trouble Furuya-kun. I hope he hadn't disturbed you from your work" she said. He shook his head, indicating it wasn't a trouble.

"Ah, is the meeting over?" Naoki asks leaning on her door.

"Yes"

"Well?"

Satoru was quiet for a second before opening his mouth.

"Tanba-san is the ace"

"Hmmm"

"We'll be playing also"

 _"_ _Pitcher relay then?"_ she concluded after he said it.

"Kawakami, Sawamura, and you huh?" Satoru nodded.

"Well, good luck" she said with a smile and she straightened, planning to return inside. Satoru too moved to leave but he paused, remembering something.

"Fujioka-senpai"

Naoki paused from closing her door and she tilted her head, waiting for Satoru to speak. He remained quiet, hesitant to ask.

"…are you and Miyuki-senpai fighting?"

Naoki blinked at him in surprise.

"You see, it wasn't me that Mamoru came to first, it was Miyuki-senpai. He seemed to understand the problem but he ordered me to do it instead"

Naoki gaped at him. This is the first time she heard a long sentence from him, aside from the fact that the first person Mamoru approached to for help was Kazuya which is also surprising in itself because Mamoru rarely approaches people without her, this too is something she's not expecting, well, she's astonished indeed.

"I'm just thinking…." He continued.

"If the two of you are not fighting, he would have been the first one here" he finished, satisfied that he said what he wanted to say to Naoki. Pleased with his mediocre achievement, Satoru faces Naoki expecting a praise only to see her downcast eyes.

"Um, Furuya-kun, I really don't know myself. Don't worry about us, just focus on yourself okay?" Naoki said in response, having a sadness in her tone that Satoru caught. He nodded his head, understanding Naoki's dismissal.

Satoru stared at the door as it closes with a soft click before walking to his room. On his way, he paused when he saw a familiar figure leaning on a wall located at the opposite wing of the dorm, his glasses the only thing noticeable in the darkness. From that vantage point, the person is successfully hidden while giving him the advantage of observing the other side.

 _"_ _Miyuki-senpai is so confusing"_ he thought as he resumed walking.

 _"_ _But he cares a lot for Fujioka-senpai"_

* * *

Naoki sighed on her pillow. She turned her head to Mamoru laying on the floor lazily.

"Why Miyuki, Mamo?" She asks even though she knows he will not reply. She sighed again.

"Thinking about you is tiring and depressing, you know. Why do you have to bother me when I'm supposed to focus myself on playing again?" Naoki muttered at the ceiling, picturing Kazuya's face like when she's talking to him in person.

She pulled herself up and slapped both of her cheeks with her palms.

"Okay, Naoki, you said it yourself; you're supposed to focus on playing properly right now. Let's not think of other things, okay? Focus on baseball. Baseball." She repeated like a mantra as she laid down. Then she sighed again.

"Ahh, Miyuki Kazuya, I'm still thinking about you" she softly said, burying her face on her pillow.

 _"_ _Why?"_

This is her last thought as she yawned and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Kazuya and Naoki acted like strangers. They didn't talk and Naoki didn't attempt to catch his attention. She busied herself writing and copying notes she needs for the upcoming exams, but most of the time, she distracts herself by staring at the window. She's feeling lonely. Kazuya had been the first person she met and truth be told, she had taken an instant liking to him. That's why it had hurt when he didn't acknowledge their bond. It had hurt to the point that she almost wished she's back to being depressed, at least on those times, she hadn't had a care.

In front of her, Kazuya clenched his hands together in frustration. He is used to being ignored or be the one ignoring, but why can't he take this suffocating silence between them? He can't blame Naoki; it was him who started it after all. He was the one who broke whatever it is they have before it had a chance to grow.

It's better this way. At least, no one will get hurt.

"Fujioka, here are my notes. You just transferred so I hope they can help you understand our current lessons" Kazuya heard a deep voice said behind him.

"Ah thank you, president but you shouldn't have bothered."

 _"_ _Matsushima Kou"_ Kazuya identified the speaker. He narrowed his eyes as he subtly leaned to hear their conversation. He finds it odd that Kou, the student council president, is talking to a girl, he rarely does. Kou is the type of person who is silent but has a commanding presence and the girls are usually the ones who approach him, drawn to his aura and good looks but oftentimes, he doesn't entertain them.

Except, apparently, this one.

"It's fine Fujioka, I was worried you're having a hard time here so I did what a president would do" he explained softly.

Kazuya frowned at his words. Kou was worried? For Naoki?

 _"_ _Hmm, does he likes her?"_ Kazuya inwardly asks and couldn't help but frown at the thought as well as at the annoyance that flared when he realized Kou is _flirting._

"Is that so…ah well, thanks again." Kazuya frown turned into a smirk when he noted her tone of discomfort and the corresponding audible squirm she made.

"Well then, I will leave you to your work" with that, Kazuya saw Kou walked to his seat at the other side of the room.

He heard Naoki's sigh of relief and then silence. Like she is contemplating.

"Ne, how far are you going to lean, Miyuki-kun?"

Kazuya stiffened at her question and he realized his back is already touching the edge of her table. He laughed awkwardly and scooted back to his previous position.

He heard Naoki sigh.

Kazuya's heart aches in response, and he bowed his head as he fisted his hands on his table.

Baseball. Baseball and nothing else.

* * *

Naoki stood at the edge of the field while afternoon practice is going on. She smiled sadly, feeling the fragile atmosphere in the air. Everyone is in low spirits but with varying reasons. Her because of the situation between her and Kazuya while most of the members are affected with the mood of the third years.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

She needs to change gears since she plans on playing again. She cannot allow her emotions to rule her. For now, she has to focus on herself and baseball.

 _"_ _And he needs to focus on baseball as well if they want to go to the Nationals"_ she thought, accepting her position and her state.

Looks like the problem cannot be resolved overnight.

 _"_ _Well, no matter. I can be patient. I need to work on myself first"_ she decided firmly in her head. But even with that decision, she still felt restless. It feels like delaying their much needed conversation means giving up on him. She has a gut feeling that not letting him know may further estrange him from her.

* * *

She was still troubled by her thoughts while going to her room that evening that she hadn't noticed the person on her path. In her absence of mind, she collided with him as he too was lost in his thoughts.

Naoki lost her balance and she started falling backwards. Strong arms grabbed her waist, stopping her momentum, and effectively saving her from a nasty fall. Her hands frantically grasp her savior's shoulders as she tried to straighten herself. She focused her eyes to his face, opening her mouth to offer an apology and a gratitude, only for it to freeze when her mind registered the signature side cap and the rimmed glasses.

How convenient that the source of her thoughts had found his way to her.

They stared at each other in silence, both surprised at each other's appearance and at the timing of the situation. Then their eyes widened in unison as their current position became apparent to the two. They let go of each other and Naoki straightened, blushing slightly while Kazuya hid his face to the side, arms warm and tingling after holding Naoki's waist and feeling her heat.

"I've..got to go" he muttered, walking briskly past her.

Naoki quickly turns and grabs his arm.

"Miyuki-kun, I don't know what's happening between us or the root of all of this. To tell you the truth, I want to fix this" Naoki didn't know where the sudden words are coming from. Everything just came pouring out of her and she can't stop it. Kazuya is in front of her right now and she can't waste this chance.

Kazuya planned on making a quick excuse the moment he felt Naoki's hand on his. Before he could utter the words though, Naoki beat him to it. He stood speechless, frozen from his spot as Naoki told him without preamble her desire to repair what he had broken.

Bathump.

His heart skipped a beat when their eyes meet and lock.

"But I want to focus on baseball right now, and I'm sure you want it too"

Kazuya hid his disappointment after hearing her. But he didn't argue, knowing she is speaking the truth. Naoki's grip tightened on his arm.

"So wait until the season is over because we'll be having a really long talk about you and me, and I wouldn't end it without some satisfactory results" Naoki let Kazuya's arm go while he stared slack-jawed at her declaration. She grins at him.

"Until then, please prepare yourself" she said in farewell. She turned her back on him and resumed her journey back to her room with a slight skip in her steps

Kazuya stared with gaping mouth as Naoki rounded on a corner. He was amazed at Naoki's feistiness and at her barely veiled challenge. He hid his mouth with the back of his hand as he bowed his head to the side and smiled softly.

"Really, so stubborn" he whispered, his eyes adapting a look of relief and a hint of happiness.

For once, someone is taking the first step to reach out to him, not the other way around.

That night, Naoki slept comfortably with a smile gracing her lips and she dreamt a dream of the future.

* * *

 **Ace of Diamond, S1 Episode 20**


	11. Chapter 10

"Yeah! Bring it on!"

Naoki laughed upon hearing Isashiki's roar while she observes Tetsuya 'practice'. The two of them are energetic this morning, shouting loudly and practicing seriously. Looks like the top players are recovering their spirits. It wouldn't be long until the mood catches up to the others. In fact, she had seen some players displaying a lot of enthusiasm after witnessing Isashiki's batting.

She glanced at Tetsuya and found he hasn't finished his image training. She smiled as a moment later he swung his arms to bat at an imagined pitch.

 _"_ _Ah, that's a nice sound"_ she complimented, hearing the force his batting induced in the air.

She started walking to him while the two second-string members stared in disbelief after hearing their captain said his practice is over.

"Yuuki-senpai, may I practice with you?" Naoki said, halting a few meters from him. He stared at her in concern. He knows the mental toll it takes for her to pitch and he doesn't want her to get hurt more because of it. Naoki smiled in reassurance.

"It's fine, Yuuki-senpai. I need to improve myself too, otherwise, I'll lose what I have" she told him, fisting her hands as a sign of her determination. Tetsuya smiled and nodded, finding his proof at her steel gaze.

"Thank you. Let's go to field B, I already asked the coach if I can use the mound over there and he said yes so, ah, we need a catcher" she muttered at the end as she looked from side to side, trying to find a spare catcher.

"Um, I think Ono Hiroshi is available, Fujioka-senpai" a first year said shyly when he heard her look for a catcher.

"Is that so? Can you call him? Tell him we'll be waiting at field B. Thanks a lot" she said gratefully to the first year which caused him to blush and in turn, earned teasing remarks from the upperclassmen near them. He nodded in response and jogged away, looking for Hiroshi.

Tetsuya and she walked together in silence. Along the way, they noticed Tohru practicing on his own.

"Masuko-san! Can you join us?" Naoki called out and Tohru paused from his practice. He sent her a curious look. Naoki grinned and gestured at Tetsuya and her as they neared him.

"We're going to practice at field B."

"Masuko, you should join us" Tetsuya invited with a smile.

"It would be a good practice considering Fujioka has a lot of unique pitching styles" he continued. Tohru contemplated his current situation and thought of coach Kataoka's advice when he passed by earlier. True, it would be more effective to practice on a moving ball than hitting it in place and he can experiment his clutch. Not only that, he's quite curious about Naoki's pitching.

Naoki grinned when Tohru nodded his head. She couldn't ask for better opponents than these two. Their captain who is known to be a strong batter and a clean-up hitter, and their third baseman who is a heavy hitter. Both intelligent individuals who know how to analyze pitches and have high game sense.

 _"_ _This is going to be fun"_

* * *

"Okay, before we start, let me explain first what we are going to do" she started as they assembled. She nodded her head at Hiroshi who had come a few minutes after they had entered the B field.

"This is a mock game which means we will apply the three strikeout rule but without the participation of the fielders. To make this fun and exciting, we are going to have a reward and a punishment policy" Naoki explained as they huddled. The three men nodded their head, following her thoughts.

"It's simple. The person who gets the highest number of hits at the end of practice, or strikeouts in my case, will earn two favors, one from each loser with the exception of the catcher. The losers will, of course, have to do what the winner says. Is that agreeable?" she asks and they all nodded.

"Remember, there will be only one winner" she reminded, holding an index finger. Tetsuya narrowed his eyes, beginning to be fired up at the challenge and feeling determined to win the two favors. If he wins, he can use his favor to force Naoki to play shogi with him.

Tohru nodded his head, also feeling determined to win. If he can get the favors from each, he can finally find some good hiding place for his foods. It's hard to keep them all to himself while he's hiding the foods in their room. Eijun, it appears, has a knack for finding them even when they are nearly impossible to retrieve.

"Yosh! Let's get started!" she exclaimed as the tension soared. Then she turned to Hiroshi.

"Ono-kun, just position your mitt wherever you like, don't move it before catching my pitch. I'll put it there no matter what" she said, pointing to his mitt. He stared at her in surprise and amazed at her confidence.

"Hai! I'll do my best to catch your pitch, Fujioka-san but the game plan-" he said worried that putting his mitt somewhere without knowing her pitch might cause her a run.

"Don't worry, let me handle it" she said, smiling and patting his back in reassurance. He hesitantly nodded.

She walked up to the mound and stood there. She took a deep breath while goosebumps appeared on her skin and she felt faint. The edge of her fingers started feeling cold and her legs felt like they are becoming lead, so heavy and so hard to move. Naoki clenched her fingers inside her glove. After warming them, she retrieved the ball beside her feet and stared at it.

This is it.

Naoki turned her gaze to the home plate. For a second, her vision blacked out before refocusing again. This time, she's still in the present. She could still see Tetsuya as he prepared himself at the batter's box and she could still distinguish Hiroshi and his mitt. She took a deep breath.

Step by step. This is just a practice. Learn your limits. See how far you can push yourself without breaking down. Naoki repeated these words in her mind. She gave Hiroshi a nod, signaling she's ready.

Naoki plans to cycle on all of her pitching styles. What kind of pitching affected her the most and what are others that don't, although she already has an inkling what pitching style is closely tied to Naoko's memory. For her, the favors don't matter much, this practice is a sort of experiment and win or lose, as long as she can gather a useful information she's fine with it.

 _"_ _Hmm, Yuuki-senpai had already seen some of my pitches but even if he hadn't, he's still an opponent I cannot underestimate. On the other hand, Ono-kun doesn't know how my pitches work and we didn't talk about signs before we started. I only told him to position himself"_ She thought as she contemplates, thinking her first set of pitches against Tetsuya while eliminating some for Hiroshi's sake.

 _"_ _Okay, I'll start with this"_ she decided, choosing an easy variation first to warm up her senses and also with the goal of letting Hiroshi be familiar with her pace. It's not difficult for her to choose moves while on the field, she's already used to this since she and Naoko do this kind of training all the time. An image flashed in her eyes. It was Naoko standing on the batter's box and behind him is a wide green net, a substitute for a catcher, as he waited for her to pitch. The image disappeared as fast as it came.

Naoki blew a breath in relief.

* * *

Outside the field, Rei stood smiling at the participants with her arms wrapped below her chest and feeling excited at the prospect of seeing what kind of play Naoki will perform against one of the strongest batters of West Tokyo. Rei had accidentally stumbled upon their training while on her way to field A. At first, she was curious why they were clustered together, and with a bit of eavesdropping, she realized they will be playing a mock game. With her interest piqued, she opted to stay for a while to observe and had volunteered, without them knowing, to tally the score.

 _"_ _Let's see..Yuuki-kun will be the first to at-bat then Masuko-kun. Ono-kun is the catcher while Fujioka-chan is the pitcher"_ Rei listed the players mentally. She focused her gaze at Naoki who is starting a wind-up.

Rei's eyes widened at seeing Naoki do a sidearm pitch.

"St-strike!" Hiroshi shouted after catching the pitch. He shifted his crouch to a much more comfortable position, his amazement not extinguishing for a bit. He had thought Tetsuya would hit the pitch for sure even though he had put his mitt inside-low, and there was a moment that Hiroshi almost moved his mitt after seeing the unusual movement of the ball. He didn't and it arrived, like it is its destination all along.

"Does that mean you have one point?" Tetsuya asked curiously, looking at her as she held her glove to receive the ball Hiroshi threw back at her.

"No. I need a strikeout to get a point. Which means you can still earn one if you hit my next pitch but like in a game, it has to be hit in the diamond for it to count. Fouls don't count." She explained which Tetsuya responded with a nod. He readied himself as he smiled, finding the mock game fun.

* * *

She watched transfixed as Naoki executed multiple pitches Rei hadn't seen in Naoki's last pitching game. Back then, she had thought Naoki is impressive with the way she excelled in everything. She didn't understand why coach Kataoka was not satisfied with her performance, but witnessing Naoki's display of diverse arsenal at this moment, she now understands his displeasure. She would too, if her godchild was not living to her expectations especially when the said godchild had already proven her skills in the past.

Ping.

"Woah, that'll be a long one! Nice job, Masuko-san" Naoki praised, as she watched the ball stop in a far distance from their location.

"Uga!" Tohru said proudly, pleased he had gotten a hit after multiple attempts. He walked out of the batter's box as Tetsuya replaced him wearing a seriously determined expression. Tohru stopped and patted Tetsuya's shoulder.

"You can do it" he cheered and Tetsuya's expression darkened even more, his determination leveling up to the umpteenth scale. Out of the two of them, he's the only one who hadn't gotten a successful hit since most of his attempts are foul.

Tohru couldn't say he's better because he had gotten a hit first compared to Tetsuya. Actually, he envies Tetsuya. He's the only one who gets the most difficult and hard to predict pitches of Naoki. It's usually during his at bat that Naoki reveals a new pitch.

He sat at the nearby dug-out, knowing for a fact this turn is going to be a long one. He turned his head, hearing approaching footsteps. It was Rei. She stopped beside him.

"So, it's Yuuki-kun's turn now"

Tohru nodded his head as he crossed his arms. Rei narrowed her eyes after seeing Tetsuya's second foul become a second strike. At this rate, he will fail to gain a hit from Naoki who was not letting up.

"The current status is 3:0:1, with Naoki taking the lead and Yuuki still not getting a hit" she stated, touching her glasses. Tohru glanced at her. He didn't know she was taking tabs about their score. He completely forgot about it as he is more focused on getting that one hit than spare a thought of their scores. He is sure Tetsuya forgot it too.

"Naoki's pitch count is 32 after four at bats. Now, this is Yuuki-kun's fifth foul, making her pitch count 37" Rei said with a sigh. Tetsuya doesn't want to give up and neither does Naoki. So stubborn to the point that they'll exhaust themselves, but she smiled seeing that the two are enjoying themselves.

Ping.

"Oooh, you finally hit one, Yuuki-senpai" Naoki said smiling widely, following the ball's flight as it hit the fence.

"A home run, huh" she mumbled, then she turned to Tetsuya and held two fingers, her lips forming a wide grin.

"A home run is worth two points, Yuuki-senpai!" she shouted on the mound and Tetsuya nodded at her then he fisted his right hand. He raised it above his head as an index finger points upward. Naoki laughed at his gesture.

 _"_ _So he's gunning for the number one spot, huh?"_ Naoki smiled at the thought. It seems she also needs to step up her game, she doesn't want to lose after all.

 _"_ _Guess I'll be using the more difficult ones to win this"_ she decided as she took a deep breath while Tetsuya is replaced by Tohru.

Naoki closed her eyes. She doesn't feel anything out of place. As a matter of fact, she's comfortable of herself right now, like a well-oiled machine, and she feels her vision becoming clearer from its hazy state.

Naoko's mirage didn't appear as their mock game deepened and Naoki lost herself to the euphoria of playing on the mound with her pitches. Everything she throws marks a new rediscovery, similar to finding life and movement on a once dead part of your body.

She feels so happy as her body continues its motion, her brain thinking of ways to optimize her pitch, and her fingers deftly switching its hold on the ball.

* * *

"Strike! Ah, Yuuki-san, you're out"

"Hey, you should see what's happening on the other field"

"Why? What's happening"

"It's awesome, I swear"

"Eh?"

Eijun's frustrations that no one is catching for him disappeared when he overheard some members running past him, he stared at them curiously, suddenly itching to go somewhere and witness whatever it is that earned such a praise. He glanced to the side to see that Chris, Kazuya, and Satoru also caught the conversation.

"Heh, looks like some players are getting energetic, huh?" Kazuya said with a grin. Satoru ignored him as he stood facing him, ready to pitch while Eijun restlessly shuffled his feet, staring at Chris in a wordless plea to let him go. Chris stared at him.

"Your form is still inconsistent so you need to work on it, there's no time to dally" he said in response to Eijun's silent request. Eijun grumbled.

"Ahaha, idiot" Kazuya laughed inside the bullpen. Eijun glared at him.

"Miyuki-senpai"

"He-y!" Kazuya's smirk was wiped away from his face as he caught the incoming ball without warning or any other signal from Satoru.

"Furuya, Sawamura" a voice called.

The four of them faced the source of the voice and found the coach approaching them.

"Go to the other field, I want you to observe Fujioka's form. Chris and Miyuki too" he ordered as he turned to proceed to the next field.

Eijun's mouth formed a wide grin.

"Yosh!" he shouted in excitement then froze as the realization hit him.

"Fu-fujioka-senpai is pitching?" he said in disbelief then his eyes transformed into stars as he remembered her pitching and he ran, leaving the three behind.

"Idiot, so excited he forgot about us and his training" Kazuya stated with a smirk and he turned to Satoru to order him.

"Furuya, go and follow—Oh" he stopped midsentence when he noticed that Satoru was already far from them, walking briskly as he too excitedly followed Eijun's tracks to the other field. Chris smiled at the two's antics.

"Well, we should be going too" he offered, starting to walk. Kazuya followed beside him.

"Chris-san, I've been meaning to ask you, what do you think of Fujioka?" Kazuya asked casually, trying not to drown on the incoming thoughts full of Naoki. He's in that state since yesterday evening, after Naoki declared her intentions to not give up on him. The barrage of thoughts fully centered around her threatened to steal his sleep and even though he had slept, his dream was still all about her. His every waking hour consisted of her and he nearly flunked his test this morning because of his distraction, thankfully he remembered what he's supposed to do and did it just in time.

Now that they're not conversing often, he discovered that thoughts of her doubled compared to the days they were together. He's finding that ignoring her is much worse than being with her, so he couldn't completely focus on baseball, which was his goal and the reason behind his cutting of ties.

"She's dependable and the two of you look quite good together" Chris smiled and he gave Kazuya a sidelong glance.

"Yes, she's depen—W-a-wait, what?" Kazuya sputtered as he gaped at Chris and a light blush crept on his face to settle on his ears where they glowed a dark shade of red. He didn't expect that answer from him. Chris' lips twitched while trying to suppress his laughter. He didn't offer an explanation to his words.

"Chris-san, that's…" Kazuya trailed as his pace slowed and the distance between them lengthened. His head bowed as his shoulders slackened and a hand covered his face.

Kazuya's face feels so hot and it's so hard for him to breath.

 _"_ _He said we look good together"_

The thought repeats itself like a mantra inside his head while Kazuya followed slowly behind Chris to the next field. His mind is currently irrevocably absent from baseball, floating to who knows where but having one subject in common: Naoki.

"Oi, woman! I will hit your pitch to infinity and beyond!"

"Isashiki-senpai, it's Yuuki-senpai's turn. You can't just appear here and take his place"

Kazuya's daze snapped into focus when he heard the words laughingly said by Naoki. His eyes went to the mound and settled on Naoki as she grinned while watching the struggle happening between Isashiki and Tetsuya.

"Jun, this is mine" Tetsuya said seriously and they reverted to a staring contest. Isashiki lost and he grumbled, walking out of the batter's box to stand near the dug-out where he positioned himself in front of Tohru, wordlessly saying the next turn is his. Tohru gave it to him without complaint.

Kazuya's gaze switched to the home plate and his vision turned green with jealousy. Not because Tetsuya is the one batting but because it was Hiroshi who is catching. His lips set itself in a fine line. Kazuya should have been the one catching Naoki's pitches, not him. The only catcher capable of making a battery with her is him, no one else.

Why didn't she call for him? He grumbled inwardly.

Oh, right. He's avoiding-slash-ignoring her. No wonder she went to another man.

"What's the score?"

"Hmm, I think it's 6:4:3, and 0 if Isashiki-san will join"

Chris and Kazuya turned to the voices.

"What is it all about?" Chris asked.

"Ah, it's the score of how many strikeouts and hits the players had. Fujioka-san is currently on the lead, followed by the captain and lastly Masuko-senpai"

Kazuya turned to the play, lips forming into a smirk. Feeling proud of Naoki all of a sudden.

"Strike!"

"Woah"

The crowd cheered after hearing Hiroshi's shout. This is Tetsuya's third strike and also his second consecutive strikeout. Isashiki growled from the dug-out and stamped his way to the batter's box.

Naoki tilted her head curiously as he replaced Tetsuya.

"Ne, Isashiki-senpai, you're joining us?" she asked as she furrowed her brows and then she glanced to the side. She blinked in surprise, seeing that they had a large crowd observing their practice.

"Woman! What are you doing?!" Isashiki shouted, becoming impatient as Naoki gaped at the crowd on the sidelines. She turned to him and blinked. Naoki took a deep breath, concentrating on the task at hand than thinking about the crowd.

 _"_ _Based on his plays, Isashiki-san has a tendency to hit any pitches he likes."_ She thought, strategizing her pitches. She hadn't shown all of them yet but she's thinking it is the right time to execute them. Naoki suppressed the encroaching nervousness within her. It didn't help that she saw in her periphery her uncle's shadow. He is meticulously watching her every pitch.

She focused on the mitt as she made her decision, noting that Hiroshi moved his mitt inside. Naoki started her windup, gripping the ball in a two-seam fastball grip. She moved her index and middle finger slightly to the left. She pronated her wrist away from her body as she followed through.

 _"_ _A change-up?"_ Isashiki inwardly asked as he swings his bat.

"Strike!"

 _"_ _A-a screwball?"_ Isashiki gritted his teeth. He swung his bat a bit higher and missed the much lower pitch. He scowled at Naoki as he positioned himself again. Damn woman.

Naoki breathe heavily while catching the ball sent by Hiroshi. The screwball was a success but it's getting hard to focus herself, and her vision is graying. It's as if the world around her is sucking all the colors.

"Woah, Kichi! You finally did it!"

Naoki clenched the hand holding the ball.

 _"_ _Don't lose yourself, Naoki. You're just remembering the past, no need to drown in it"_ Naoki encouraged herself as her breathing became more ragged.

She stared at the mitt and narrowed her eyes to focus on it. It seems it too is fading in the background. She can barely see its outline. She closed her eyes.

"T-time out" she called and Hiroshi hurriedly ran to her side while murmurs within the crowd ensued. This is the first time Naoki called a timeout.

Kazuya narrowed his eyes at the two persons in the mound. Naoki's complexion doesn't look good and she suddenly looked tired as she told Hiroshi something. She must have remembered a memory for those glazed eyes to slowly creep in. Concern flitted within him and he opened his mouth to call out to her.

"Kyahaha, looks like Fujioka is in a pinch eh?" Youichi suddenly said behind him, grinning at Naoki's troubled expression while inwardly worried that she's starting to lose herself again. He doesn't know why it happens to her at times. One second she's in her element and the next she looks untethered from reality.

Kazuya scolded himself for his instinctive action. If Youichi hadn't spoken, he might have shouted at Naoki. To tell her what? He doesn't know. He just had the urge to catch her attention and maybe, help her find something to hold on.

"Why don't we join them?" Ryousuke proposed while coming forward, not waiting for others to agree with him. He too, in his own way, is trying to help Naoki maintain her ground. He didn't know where such a desire is coming from. He knows, though, that Naoki is awakening the big brother instincts in him.

Youichi grins as he followed Ryousuke.

"Second baseman, coming in" Ryousuke introduced, smiling as he neared the mound. Naoki stared at him in surprise.

"Nyahaha, shortstop at your service" Youichi snickered.

"What are you do-" Naoki started but was cut-off when Eijun shouted as he ran to the dug-out.

"Then I'll be batting next to Masuko-senpai! Don't worry senpai, I will save you!" he declared as he marched with a bat and a determined expression. Behind him, Furuya followed closely, silently saying he will bat too while Haruichi joined them.

"Oi, Kanemaru, join us!" Eijun shouted at Shinji who was also watching the game. Shinji's vein popped at Eijun's commanding tone and he ignored him. He stared at the people clustered at the mound. He'd rather join Naoki than play with Eijun. He raised his hand, while putting his glove.

"Fujioka-san, I will be your third baseman" he volunteered, jogging to his position while Naoki tilted her head in confusion. Eijun followed Shinji's jog with his eyes, gawking at him in disbelief. How could he choose a girl over their friendship?

Others followed Shinji's steps and within minutes, the field have two improvised teams.

 _"_ _What just happened?"_ Naoki asked as the field were filled with players. She looked at the home plate and at the dug-out, noting the line-up. Without her knowing, everyone started to join them and now she found herself pitching in a scrimmage of a sort.

Kataoka's mouth tilted upward at Naoki's expression. He didn't tell the players to join, they did it on their own accord and he let them. He glances at his side.

"You're not joining Miyuki?" He asks while Kazuya laughed and rubbed his neck.

"I think I'll pass, coach" he said without explaining, his eyes settled on the mound.

Naoki's team has Hiroshi as its catcher while the opposing team has Keisuke. But Kataoka knew without a doubt which team Kazuya wanted to play in as a catcher and it was already taken before he had a chance to volunteer. He smirked as he turned his attention to the mound. He found it entertaining to watch the two dancing at the boundaries of their relationship. Being close and by the next, becoming strangers. Kataoka, for one, is not opposed for his players to have a relationship as long as they focused on practices and games, that doesn't mean though that he'll encourage what's happening between them. He'll let the kids do it at their own pace but if it'll affect the team in a bad way, he will be forced to take the matter into his own hands. He might even tell Ren about it and knowing him, he'll probably be here and do what a "proper father would do for his princess" which is why that is Kataoka's last option if all things fail.

* * *

"You don't have to worry, Fujioka. We're just right behind you" Ryousuke assured while patting her back.

"Heh, you're not alone" Youichi said as he turned and jogged to his position.

 _"_ _I'm not alone, huh?"_ Naoki smiled softly at Youichi's words.

"Ono-kun, I will be switching my gears now. I hope you can catch up" Naoki warned in front of her and Hiroshi gave her a nod, smiling at finding Naoki's enthusiasm restored.

"Hai!"

Naoki watched as everyone positioned themselves. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There's no time to linger in her thoughts of the past. She couldn't afford to be selfish and bring the team down, granted this was just a pitching-slash-batting practice turned into a scrimmage, but she was the reason why everyone came together. It would be wrong to pay them any less than they deserved.

Kataoka smiled at Naoki's determined expression. At last, she's coming out of her shell and becoming one with the team.

 _"_ _Ren, if only you could see your daughter. She's stronger now"_


	12. Chapter 11

Naoki stared at her food, not really seeing it. Lost in thought at that day's game. It was a first in a very long time that she played with a team again and it feels like she's starting over. It's so hard to rely on something when you had spent most of your life doing things by yourself. Even back when Naoko was alive, it was only the two of them who played. Once in a while the girls' team would get scrimmages but the intervals in between isn't as often as the boys and thus she hadn't fully developed the sense of camaraderie in the field. Oh, she gets along fine with her former teammates but not on the same level she witnessed between Naoko and the boys' team. She's having a taste of it now, and it fills her heart with warmth and at the same time, sadness because Naoko isn't here to share the moment with her.

"Fujioka-senpai! What was that last pitch you did that was very high and slow?" Eijun burst her melancholic bubble with his energetic question as he sat beside her.

 _"_ _That's Miyuki-kun's seat"_ Naoki nearly blurted out but caught the words in her throat. In her periphery, she saw Kazuya's back seating at the other table, chatting with the other members as he eats and laughing at the jokes they exchanged. Even after he started avoiding her, she still couldn't stop herself from thinking that his spot is always beside her. Ah, how sad. Oh well, she's going to rectify that after the summer tournament is over.

"Ah, it's called an Eephus pitch" she answered as she started eating. Eijun stared at her blankly. Naoki snickered at his expression.

"It's an obsolete pitch that is challenging to throw accurately. I'm quite lucky I still have the hang of it because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten a strike earlier" she explained to Eijun and he stared at her in awe. But regardless of her show of skill, the game ended in a draw after coach Kataoka decided that the match is over.

"You seem to know a lot of pitches, Fujioka-senpai" Haruichi told her in front. She blinked at him. She hadn't known he was there. Guess she was too distracted to notice her seatmates, huh?

"Well, I did practice a lot during junior high" she said, continuing her eating. True, and she mostly practice and experimented her pitch on Naoko. Sadly, she hadn't been given a chance to execute them all in some of their official games but thanks to the girls' and boys' team scrimmages, she had mastered them. Unfortunately, she has to rediscover them since based on her evaluation of her pitching today, some are nearly awkward on her shoulder. She'll have to beat it back to her body again this summer while the boys are busy in the tournament.

Come fall and she'll be ready. She's planning on joining the team, after all, and maybe play in the fall tournament.

* * *

The following days settled in a sort of routine for all of them. Practice, breakfast, class, practice, dinner, practice. Everyone's hype at the upcoming tournament after surviving the finals earlier that week, except for Satoru who needs to take a make-up test for a failed exam, is infectious. The members also, especially the second strings, are warming up to Naoki, talking to her during practice or sharing a table with her. Naoki can safely say she's been well and truly accepted.

One thing that hasn't change is the impasse between her and Kazuya. Their exchanges are limited to greetings and nods, add in a few questions here and there, and that's all. Totally different from their previous interactions. They also don't see each other in late night meetings anymore. Both of them practicing their batting, and also in Naoki's case, pitching against a net.

This kind of distance between them was noticed by the team, particularly the first string upperclassmen, but seeing that it didn't affect their performance, they had opted to let the two be at their problem.

The day arrived for the beginning of the 89th Summer Tournament West Tokyo Qualifiers.

Naoki sighed in relief that she's not bathing herself under the scorching sun and instead is with the coach and Rei. She's not an official member for the Summer Tournament so there's no need for her to join the team on the field with countless others. Her eyes roamed at the vast field of Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium and noted the abundance of schools playing in the tournament. With the East and West joining at the Opening Ceremony, the players looked like packed sardines out there, and she couldn't help but pity their plight.

Thankfully the ceremony ended quickly and she excused herself to go and check the team. As she was walking to the direction of the team, she noticed Eijun scolding Satoru while dragging him. She furrowed her brows in concern and approached them. Haruichi noticed her first.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"It's Furuya, he suddenly said he's tired" Haruichi said as he too tried to help Eijun lighten the load.

 _"_ _He's sweating a lot too"_ Naoki observes then she opened her bag. She took a towel and wetted it with water. She offered it to Satoru.

"Here, Furuya-kun, use this to cool down."

Satoru weakly raised his hand to take it but Naoki noted his trembling hands and chose to do it herself.

"Sawamura-kun, Kominato-kun, hold him" she ordered as she folded the wet towel and laid it on Satoru's forehead. Satoru sighs in relief.

* * *

"No, really"

Kazuya heard someone said laughingly as they neared and he turned to see that it came from Narumiya Mei, the ace of Inashiro Industrial High's Baseball. Their group paused a few distance from the Seido team.

Mei gasped, shocked to see that Tanba had gone bald after his accident. He hid behind their captain and catcher, Harada Masatoshi as he gaped unabashedly at Tanba's shining head.

"Tanba-san lost his hair because of the ball to his face!" he exclaimed and Masatoshi sighed.

"Don't hide behind me" he said, looking down at Mei's much smaller stature. He raised his head at the Seido team as a whole.

"It scared us when it happened, but looks like it wasn't too bad"

"Damn right it wasn't! Tanba's face is harder than iron. It's not gonna lose to some baseball!"

Naoki couldn't help but snicker as she overheard Isashiki defend Tanba's current appearance loudly. She must admit, she didn't expect him to shave his head after coming back from an injury but according to Youichi, who she inquired instead of the usual person she asks such matters to, Tanba agreed to a bet which resulted to him shaving his head. What the bet is all about, she doesn't know but she guessed it was all a joke that Tanba had taken seriously.

"Furuya-kun, don't move much please, or the towel will fall" she said when she turned and saw Satoru sagging on Eijun's shoulders. She took the towel, wetted it again and laid it at the top of his head.

"I think you need to drink some water" Haruichi offered.

"Furuya, why are you so weak, dammit!" Eijun growled.

Mei turned when he heard the name 'Furuya' and saw a pale Satoru being dragged.

"Eh? That's Furuya?" He said in disbelief as Eijun neared. Then his eyes switched to the braided girl wearing the Seido high's uniform following behind the two.

 _"_ _A female manager?"_ he asks inwardly as he witness her dampening the cloth and laying it at the top of Satoru's head.

"Hey, the spy from Inashiro! You're here to spy on us again?" Eijun exclaimed, noticing Mei and pointing at him rudely.

 _"_ _Spy?"_ Naoki furrowed her eyes in confusion, switching her gaze at the two teams. Her eyes landed on a blue-eyed blond guy behind a tall man and concluded that he is the ace based on the physical description she heard from some members when she inquired about Inashiro's ace.

"You're the one who started blabbing" Mei pointed out, irritated.

"Wait..You're on the first string?" He asked, remembering Eijun's bluff that he's Seido's secret weapon.

"Indeed!"

"You need to zip your lips" Kazuya scolded and Naoki snickered at Eijun's expression.

"You guys had better not stumble before you play us" Masatoshi said, this time looking directly at Tetsuya.

"Right back at ya!" Isashiki growled.

"At the final"

"Yeah. At the final"

Naoki rubbed her arms at the words exchanged by the two captains. She may not be participating at the games but the tension exuded by the teams makes her feel like she's also playing against them. She doesn't feel left out, contrary to that, she also feels the weight of the prospect of fighting them at the final.

Too bad she couldn't, well, not yet anyway.

Mei and the others passed Seido and he couldn't help but let his eyes linger at the girl. His gut is telling him she is more than a manager. The way the team interacted around her suggested a far more different idea.

He narrowed his gaze when he saw Kazuya stare at the girl while she fusses over Satoru.

 _"_ _Hm, interesting"_ he thought inwardly with a smirk as he turned his gaze at the front.

* * *

"Fujioka-san, you may enter" the secretary said, opening the door to another room. Ren smiled at her as he stood and took his suitcase. He heard the soft click of the door when he seated himself at a couch in the center of the office.

"Ren, it's nice to see you again." A man in a dark suit exuberantly greeted as he entered at another door, a meeting room perhaps? Ren stood and clasped the man's hands, smiling at seeing an old friend.

"How long has it been? Two years?" he said, sitting at the opposite chair from Ren.

"One year and eight months, to be exact Hanagawa-san" Ren supplied, following him and they sat face to face. Hanagawa Rouichiro frowned at his formal tone. He furrowed his brows at Ren while he opened his suitcase and took a set of papers.

"What business is this all about Ren? You don't need to be formal, I'm sure it's not that important" Rouichiro said, crossing his legs and raising his eyebrow while letting his other arm hang at the top of the coach as he leaned on his seat. He hates stuffy environments as it is, he doesn't need to have a friend who also acted like a stick's up in his ass. Which reminds him, Ren isn't the type to be overly serious except in the court, and even then, he always shows a bit of humor. This must be important.

"I'm afraid it is important, very important" Ren said, putting his suitcase down and handing Rouichiro the papers. Rouichiro stared at it curiously but didn't take it. He's not in the mood to destroy his easy demeanor. After finishing a meeting with the event organizers for the final preparations for the summer tournament, he wants to chill, not engage in another poker-faced chat.

Ren chuckled at his silent refusal. Not giving up one bit, Ren laid the papers on the coffee table and crossed his hands on his lap. His lips tilted up as his eyes silently egged Rouichiro on.

 _"_ _And this is why, he's an effective lawyer"_ Rouichiro surrendered with a sigh, taking the papers. He lazily scans the first page then he stiffened, not believing what he's reading. He straightened in his seat as he focused and reread the page.

 _"_ _You've got to be kidding me!"_ he thought in disbelief and he looked up to give Ren an incredulous look, noting that he didn't change his earlier stance.

Rouichiro stared at the paper. He doesn't need to read the remaining documents. He already knows what they are all about. This is going to be a disaster when he introduces this to the Japan High School Baseball Federation board. His mouth twitched and he let out a loud laughter.

"You-you're going to-to give the old men a-a heart attack!" he managed to say amidst his laughter. Rouichiro calmed himself and he took a deep breath while wiping his tears.

"So, what are you planning?" he asks as he grins.

"Nothing"

"Huh?" Rouichiro gaped at him.

"What do you mean, nothing? You couldn't possibly let them decide without some sort of leverage to use for them to accept this proposal, could you?"

Ren closed his eyes.

"I've put everything I have to say on those papers, it is up to them to decide" he said calmly, opening and piercing Rouichiro with his dark brown eyes.

"But of course, this is what Naoko would have wanted" Ren told him, indicating with a nod the papers Rouichiro is holding, and subtly hinting at the favor the federation owes to him after their negligence resulted in his son's death.

Rouichiro visibly winced in response after being reminded of their error.

"I'll do my best to convince them-"

"There's no need. I've already spoken to each member of the board. I think that at this moment, a decision is all that is missing" Rouichiro was cut off by Ren's words, and he stared at Ren's eyes, noting the danger in them. No doubt those old men were also at its receiving end.

"Well then, I'll be looking forward to the federation's response at the matter. I do hope it's a favorable one" Ren said as he stood, smiling at Rouichiro who continues to stare. Realizing that Ren is leaving, Rouichiro abruptly stood and offered a hand. When a meeting is over, you're supposed to shake hands, right? Ah, damn Ren for making him think this is a friendly visit. Ren took his hand and shook it.

"Hanagawa-san, let's have a cup of coffee under different circumstances next time" Ren offered as he opened the door. He gave one last smile to Ryouichiro before going out and closing the door softly.

Rouichiro slumped on his chair. He ruffled his hair as he thought of the meeting that will inevitably happen.

"I should have kept in mind that he's lethal when it comes to his family" he muttered then his mouth slowly formed into a smirk. Nothing charges him up than the thought of knowing the old men's reaction with this latest proposal. Ah, he really loves seeing them be taken by surprise in their old age.

* * *

Naoki ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She twisted her body and slid at the dirt towards the base but Tohru's glove with the ball prevented her from touching it.

"Out!"

"Nice fielding!"

She heard a chorused of shouts around her as she stood, smirking despite failing to successfully touch third base.

 _"_ _Looks like his practice is paying off"_ she thought, dusting herself while glancing at Eijun who is beaming widely with his current success at fielding.

Her gaze switched to Satoru who had also achieved a round of praise earlier after he performed a good job of covering the ball from first base. The two, it appears, are ready to take on the tournament. Unfortunately, this isn't shared by Norifumi as Naoki heard his panicked voice again. Or maybe, he's caving under the pressure of being in Tanba's shoes. Either way, this doesn't bode well. Naoki's eyes landed on the coach at the sidelines; it will be up to him how he'll organize the pitchers to maximize the team's chances of winning. She's sure he already came up with a solution to this current dilemma.

Naoki guessed he will use Norifumi as a closing pitcher and Satoru or Eijun as starting pitchers. Norifumi, she had seen, seems more comfortable as a reliever than a starter; not only that, he also has a much better ball control compared to the first year pitchers and thus he'll be more reliable to close a game.

 _"_ _But then again, that's a heavy responsibility since you cannot correct your mistakes."_ She thought to herself while going to the dug-out. Along the way, she let her eyes roam around her. Trying to show an outward appearance of casual observance while in reality, using it to disguise her glances at Kazuya. She doesn't want to be obvious, not to him and definitely not to the team.

It was just a second longer that her gaze settled on the back of his head but it was enough, apparently, for him to notice. Kazuya twisted his head and their eyes meet.

Naoki froze in her steps as her eyes widened. She quickly whipped her head to the front and started walking briskly, her face heating up at being caught ogling, for more than a second, the person she hadn't had a proper conversation with for days. Naoki knows that she'll talk to him after the summer tournament but she admits, it is easier said than done. Every day, she had the urge to go to him and just talk, not the awkward talk they've been having for brief periods of time that always concerns baseball, but just a simple talk about anything, the kind that they once did. Like those moments at the indoor practice ground.

Kazuya's lips twitched watching Naoki quickly walked to the dug-out. He had caught her staring at him and awkwardly escape his gaze. It's funny the way the two of them tries so hard to avoid each other and the way they try to maintain their conversations to strictly baseball. Kazuya admits he longs for her company more and more each day. The simple chats during dinner and the casual gestures at class.

 _"_ _A friend, huh"_ he mused.

* * *

Naoki didn't attend the first string meeting after dinner. It's for the match tomorrow, a match she's not participating so she decided to make herself scarce. Instead, she used her time to shower in her room. After that, she started the long process of brushing Mamoru's fur. She needs to do something or else her mind will wander again at the text message she received from her father that afternoon. It contained only one word.

 _"_ _Done"_

One word that speaks a lot of what her father did. He finally sent a proposal to the federation to let her play in official matches. Naoki sighs at the thought that she couldn't back away any longer. If the federation accepts it, she can't run away anymore. She wouldn't be able to make excuses. She'll have to be serious and face the field head on. It's the only reward she can give to her parents for making her go this far and a tribute to her twin brother.

Naoki smiled sadly when she remembered the conversation she had with her family the day she decided to play.

 _Naoki looked at her parents after staring at the blue sky. The urge to tell them her decision too strong for her to even attempt to back out as she opened her mouth to speak. It's better this way than let it go and wait for another opportunity because she will not give her cowardice a chance to bloom and take root._

 _"_ _Ne, father, can I ask for a favor?"_

 _Ren whipped his head to her, abandoning his previous attempt at comforting Mei to focus on his daughter. He stared at Naoki in shock as her words registered in his mind. Never in his life had he heard her seek a favor from him. Naoki is stubbornly independent and rarely asks for help. Always, it was Naoko who provided that help but now that he isn't here to be her support, Naoki is turning to Ren for help._

 _Ren suppressed the tears threatening to fall at the heels of her question. He had so little time to fulfill his role as a father and it was hard for him to treat Naoki as a princess. Her being too annoyed with his attention and, well, intelligent enough to solve her problems for herself. This latest call for help though, gives Ren hope that Naoki is starting to be aware of the world around her. That the pain and the sorrow are not clouding her thinking anymore. She's not isolating herself to her thoughts only while the people who cared for her waited in the corner for some measure of resilience on her part. Instead, she is looking for a way to break her shell which led her to seek Ren's favor._

 _"_ _You don't have to ask, Naoki. I'm your father, after all, and a father's role is to help his children in whatever it is they wished" Ren said softly with a smile, staring at Naoki with glassy eyes. Mei slowly looked up after hearing the conversation, her eyes puffy and red. Naoki's gaze lingered on her mother for a while._

 _"_ _I….want to play"_

 _Words softly spoken._

 _It was enough._

 _"_ _I can't put you in this coming Spring Tournament but I can guarantee you a spot in fall" Ren assured firmly. For him, failure is not an option. For his beloved Naoki, he'll do whatever it takes to make her play on the field. Not just any other play, but an official match, Ren knows this without a doubt._

 _He didn't ask her if she's sure of her decision and Naoki is thankful for that. She might change her mind if her father questioned her choice._

 _"_ _Fall, huh? Well, I need to improve anyway, so I guess the timing is right" Naoki stated, her lips forming a slight smile._

 _It's a big step on her part, this favor to play. But Naoki has had enough of her stagnancy. She's not satisfied to stay in one place any longer._

 _Now, it's time to start moving._

* * *

 **Yosh! Due to a busy schedule, I'd like to announce that updates will be delayed a little. Instead of the usual every '2 weeks', the updates may be irregularly posted but don't worry, I'm not planning a hiatus for this one though I'm crossing my fingers just in case. Okay, back to college life!**


	13. Chapter 12

Haruno's wide-eyed gaze tried to see and guess, for the third time, how far and thick the crowd is, only for her to sigh, failing yet again to estimate the massive supporters surrounding them. Of course she knows how fruitless such an endeavor is but she still hasn't gotten over the fact that she is in the midst of it and will be cheering, nonetheless.

"We will now begin the second round of the West Tokyo Qualifiers, between the Seido High School and Maimon West High School."

"Our summer's finally about to start. I really hope no one's nervous for this important first game." Haruno said, smiling innocently when she saw their team at the field. She clenched her hands into fists as her nerves started to fray, her heart thumping in her chest and various impossible scenarios ran in her head. Ah, she really hopes Seido wins.

"You're the one who is nervous"

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine"

Haruno nods at her senpais' words of assurance. She turned her head back to the field and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She's not going to miss anything.

"Is this seat taken?"

Haruno blinks in surprise at the towering shadow beside her. She looked up, realizing the familiarity of the voice and in doing so, confirmed her suspicions. The second string members around them quieted when they too noticed the figure wearing a civilian attire in the front row. At first glance, Fujioka Naoki can be mistaken as any other dedicated fan of Seido, wearing a Seido shirt and black pants, matching her look with brown boots, so unlike the attire of the second string members seating around the benches. No, one can't even guess she's also a player of the said team, an unofficial first string member.

"N-no, Fujioka-san." Haruno stuttered the words, abruptly turning her head to the front as Naoki seated herself beside her. Haruno fiddled with her fingers on her lap while the noise returned, the players resuming their conversation after their initial observation of Naoki.

 _"_ _Waah, I'm so hyper aware of her presence."_ Haruno cried out inside her mind, sweating while her eyes frantically move side to side.

"Nera-i-uchi"

Haruno blinks, turning in surprise when she heard Naoki's soft chuckles after singing. Naoki glances at her and smiled.

"Sorry, I was taken away by the current melody the band is playing" Naoki apologized, scratching her cheeks in embarrassment.

"I-it's fine, Fujioka-chan…" Haruno said, shaking her head while staring at Naoki in awe, her earlier nerves gone in the face of Naoki's smile.

 _"_ _Fujioka-chan, so pretty.."_

Naoki watched as Haruno blushed and quickly averted her gaze from Naoki. She tilted her head curiously and opened her mouth to ask only for her attention to be caught at the tune that made her sing earlier. Naoki swiveled to the other side and saw the band cheerfully playing while the people around them pointed and smiled. Naoki's gaze was snagged by a family far from her left. Her eyes softly lingered at the jumping children, a girl and a boy in the age ranging from eight to nine.

She and Naoko were of the same age as the two when their father started bringing them to watch baseball matches. Which reminds her, it's been a long time since she last came to watch an official baseball play, nearly two years in fact.

When Naoko was alive.

"Strike!"

Naoki blinked and turned her attention back to the field. Her eyes landed on Youichi at the plate. He is Seido's leadoff hitter, the first batter in the batting line-up. She had seen Youichi in action and knew without a doubt he is unstoppable when he's on a base, unfortunately, he is not very good at batting which if you look at it, the one he should also excel in.

She observed further, curious how the shortstop took a strike at the start of the first inning.

"Aw!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Wow! A strikeout!"

All around Naoki, except the Seido team, the people burst into complaints and words of dismay. It was understandable since the first action usually carries a momentum, and to have a bad start does not bode well for the morale of the team. But Naoki does not blame Youichi for not taking a base. For one, he did his best and acted accordingly with his assumptions against the enemy. Not only that, the opposing pitcher is a submarine pitcher which utilizes slow almost ground touching pitches. The kind of pitch the first string is not accustomed to, that doesn't mean this will cripple them. Which is why she admired Youichi's attempt to unveil the kind of pitch the pitcher has for the next batter. A 'lose the battle but win the war' saying so to speak. Teamwork at its finest.

This game will be a rough ride but Seido will win.

"Oh no, that's not good isn't it?" Haruno whispered, panicking in her seat. Naoki glanced at her. The girl, it seems, doesn't realize she had said her worries. Naoki taps Haruno's clenched hand.

"Don't worry. Kuramoichi-kun may not have taken a base but the team knows what they are up against. They will turn this around." Naoki said, reassuringly. Haruno's troubled eyes flashed confusion for a second, not understanding what Naoki was saying, but she nodded her head and smiled, having faith that what Naoki said was true.

 _"_ _If not, Furuya's pitches will blow them away"_ Naoki added silently, a wry smile on her lips at her prediction. She had her own reconnaissance before today's match and she had gathered that Maimon is a defensive team. In order to defend though, they must first get a point ahead of Seido. Sadly, Chiharu doesn't see that scenario happening. For to get a run, they must first battle with Satoru's monster pitches and if by a stroke of luck they do get a long shot, Seido's fielders are skilled enough to catch it.

Seido may not get a run in this inning but the only obstacle in this game is the pitcher and the pitcher is not that skilled to trouble the team much so Naoki knows sooner or later, one can hit a clean shot out of the submarine, particularly the clean-up hitters.

For the next minutes, Naoki's predictions all came true.

Maimon swung in fear. Yuuki batted a long and fast shot.

Soon, the first and third bases are loaded. Another successful hit and Seido will have the first run.

The next batter strode confidently to the batter's box, his lips tilted upward and his overall gait speaks of this moment as if it will be just another walk in the park. His appearance incited a loud cheer from the Seido team at the benches and the crowd while the band renewed their play.

Naoki once again heard the melody and she smiled, fondly recalling the memory as her eyes tracked Kazuya's movements at the box. The first time they met that night at the indoor practice ground, Kazuya had shared to her that he's a clutch hitter and he's dependable when there are runners on the base. Actually, he had shared a lot that night, talkative even. Naoki rubbed her chest. It was a beautiful memory, full of laughter really. She hadn't known she could laugh like that or could tell someone about herself so comfortably. That night she had and Naoki knows that the sentiment was mutual. Well, she thought it was mutual until he declared they were not friends.

 _"_ _You're getting off-track Naoki. We had agreed upon to set this aside, this includes thoughts pertaining to the past interactions. This season is baseball, okay?"_ Naoki softly chided inside her head. She suppressed the urge to sigh, which also troubles her. Lately, sighing is becoming a habit of her when she reminisces anything related to Kazuya. She truly finds it odd because not even Naoko's death could instill in her the habit of sighing, mostly she just stays silent.

Whatever it is, it could wait. She has a match to watch.

 _"_ _Specifically Miyuki Kazuya"_ her mind supplied and Naoki ignored it. Of course ignoring it doesn't mean she can stop the blush that bloomed on her face.

* * *

Kazuya stood at the ready. He relaxed his stance and focused his eyes on the pitcher. It is clear that Maimon's battery wasn't assembled recently. Well-coordinated, it means they've been partners for a long time. This is probably the tactic of their coach, taking their enemies by surprise and defeat them in the middle of the ensuing confusion. Unfortunately for him, Kazuya likes the unknown. Strategizing, finding weak points in the enemy, and manipulating the pitchers are his fortes.

He had long since figured how this will play out.

"Neraiuchi" He hummed, his eyes trained to the pitcher.

 _"_ _Gotcha"_ Kazuya thought and swung his bat to contact. He aimed the direction of his bat almost parallel to his legs and its head a hairbreadth from the ground

Inside low and a breaking pitch. A strategy to lessen the chance of a squeeze play since Seido have runners on third and first bases, and also making use of the difficulty of reaching the low pitch especially if one doesn't know what's coming. Fortunately for Kazuya, he had deduced correctly.

It went long and past the infielders.

 _"_ _The same pitch Kuramochi couldn't hit"_ he mused with a bit of humor while he runs to first up to the second base. He touches base after Tohru lands on third and Yuuki arrives at the home plate. Kazuya glanced at the dug-out and saw Shirasu Kenjirou walking to the plate. This at-bat will be a squeeze play.

Kazuya readies himself but before his eyes settle on the home plate, he caught sight of a standing Naoki at the benches. He scanned her frame quickly, and satisfied with what he found, he refocused his attention back to the ongoing play. There's no time for indulgence but a quick motivation should be enough.

His mouth quirks a little at the notion. Since when did Naoki become distraction and motivation all rolled into one?

* * *

"Wah! Sawamura-kun, go!" Haruno cheered loudly beside Naoki while she gaped in surprise as the coach confirmed the pitcher change. Naoki thought Eijun will not be playing in this game but it seems she's wrong. She knows Eijun has a talent for pitching but at his current state, she had guessed coach Kataoka wouldn't risk him playing on the field. Then again, Naoki glances at the score, they took a lot of runs in the previous inning so letting the first year pitch isn't a bad thing. For now, they can afford to mess up a little now that they are leading, not that Satoru's pitching is passable. Contrary to that, he gets consecutive strikeouts because the enemy isn't strong enough to stand their ground and wait

 _"_ _He needs to level up his pitching or else Furuya-kun will have a hard time battling the top schools"_ she contemplated. Her eyes went to the cluster of people on the mound, the Seido fielders are currently having a quick meeting.

 _"_ _Probably to lessen the pressure off Eijun"_ she mused, her lips tilted upward to form a smile as she observes the commotion on the mound. Eijun looks exasperated while the others grin at his expression. As the others turn and spread out, each returning to their designated post, Eijun shouted his signature speech.

"Pfft. Balls will go flying huh?" Naoki chuckles with Haruno giggling in response. Around them, groans and mutters of 'idiot' can be heard mixed with some members sighing in defeat. Well, Eijun is Eijun.

* * *

The blare of the horns throughout the field signals the end of the match against Seido and Maimon. Seido began their season with a pitcher relay but without their ace. Nonetheless, the school won the match. With their two first years and a second year in their line-up, one can say Seido is more or less stable this summer tournament.

"Will they finally go to the Nationals this summer?" Mine Fujio said out loud while he and Oowada Akiko observed the game from the sidelines. They are the journalists assigned in the Tokyo Qualifiers by the Monthly Baseball Kingdom. As of this moment, Fujio and Akiko are taking note of the progress and improvements of one of the top schools in West Tokyo, Seido High School.

"Mine-san, I'm sure they are going to win, I mean, look at that first year Furuya-kun was it? He was unstoppable!" Akiko exclaimed, awe tainting her tone. Fujio suppressed a sigh. Akiko is still fairly new at observing the nuances of baseball, unlike him who is already considered as a veteran, and sometimes it impairs her judgment. Yes, it is true the first year starting pitcher of Seido is amazing but most of his pitches are high balls. That wouldn't do against high-level schools especially against Ichidaisan High, Seido's long-time rival.

"We'll see" Fujio mutters. With his head, he gestured for Akiko to move. Their business is finished here. They walk to the exit and the tall woman falls into step with Fujio. Akiko starts to ramble, talking about things like guys with glasses, her usual topic which Fujio usually turns a deaf ear on. His gaze strayed to his left, trying to find anything his mind could latch on instead of the useless conversation Akiko is having. Fujio focuses his attention on the Seido players. Like them, the second string players are packing up. They will be meeting with the team at the entrance of the stadium. To cheer and to congratulate, he guessed.

"Hmm, Mine-san, you're quite fond of Seido huh?" Akiko butted in after catching Fujio's attention is not focused on her. Her eyes skim the top of the Seido players' heads before she sighs. Really, what's so special with Seido? Akiko gets that Seido is considered as a powerhouse school but they haven't been in nationals for some years now.

 _"_ _And they do have an awesome megane catcher"_ Akiko sighs dreamily. Okay, now she understands Fujio's fascination in the said team, albeit for a different reason.

 _"_ _Or maybe not so different reason"_ Akiko thought, remembering that Fujio once made an article about the catcher she admires, an admiration purely for an aesthetic reason really. Akiko's eyes scanned the players once again. Then, she sees an unusual number of girl managers of the team. Instead of four, there are currently five of them, and she doesn't recognize the newbie.

"Ne, Mine-san, it seems Seido has a new manager," she said, strangely curious about the new face. Is it just her or had she seen that face before? Fujio followed her line of sight.

"I guess they would recruit another, considering a number of players-"

Akiko glances at Fujio while he stops walking and stares in shock.

"What's wrong Mine-san?"

Fujio slowly turns to her and discretely points the newbie.

"Is she familiar to you, Oowada?"

"That's funny, she is. But I'm sure I haven't met her once in my life, well maybe in my life before this one" Akiko supplied, chuckling at her words. When she noticed that Fujio is giving her a blank look, she cleared her throat. Fujio sighed and resumed walking. Akiko stared at his back, confused for a moment. She hesitantly followed him.

"Do you remember the Spring Koshien Tragedy, Oowada?"

* * *

Naoki watched on the sidelines as the Seido members practiced that afternoon. She smiled at their determination. So nostalgic, it reminded Naoki of the times she observed her brother's practices. Like the team, he too was not satisfied with the day's success. He always tried to exceed whatever performance he did, always striving to be the best in and out of the field. Even at school, he would get a lot of A marks and perfect scores. He was the reason why Naoki became competitive. Back when he was alive, that is. After his death, Naoki found little to fight for. Her only concern was her parents' feelings, other than that, everything became a bother, became unimportant.

Such a depressing thought changed however, when she attended Seido and was introduced to the team, to play baseball again. Part of her aches when playing baseball as it reminds her of a long gone past and the other half of her rejoice at the fact that she, in some little ways, can feel Naoko's presence painful as it may be.

Naoki took a deep breath and exhaled the air.

Life must continue to go on.

"Naoki"

Naoki heard her name being called near the dug-out. It came from the coach. Beside him, Rei stood smiling at her while Naoki spotted the principal and his associate walking away from the two.

"Hai, coach?" She asks after jogging to their location. Kataoka stared at her in silence, seemingly debating how to start.

"Your father had informed me regarding your request" Kataoka started. Naoki didn't react, she had already assumed her father had done so. Not only because Kataoka is his closest friend and her uncle but also because he is Naoki's coach. Kataoka will be an instrument that will help endorse Naoki to the federation. After all, what's the use of approving her request if her own coach is not a party to the idea?

"Starting this day I'd like you to train under Chris. You need to keep shape and start reviewing your forms. I've already updated Chris beforehand and he had already agreed to take charge of your training regimen. By the end of the coming weeks, I will evaluate your progress, understand?" Kataoka finished his instruction with a small smile. Naoki quirks her lips. This is so like what he had done in her childhood years.

"Hai!" Naoki replied with a curt bow.

* * *

"Ah, Fujioka-san, good evening" Chris greets in the center of the indoor practice ground building as Naoki enters.

"Good evening as well, Takigawa-senpai" Naoki replied with a smile.

"Coach charged me of your training, Fujioka-san, not that you need a lot of help" Chris said, smiling as he gave a little praise.

"The coach specifically ordered me to be as strict as possible and to take no heed of the fact you are a female. According to him, you'll be having a very important encounter in the near future and I must prepare you as much as possible" Chris continues while Naoki listens in the background.

"I'll do my best to keep up, senpai" Naoki said after Chris paused.

"Good. Well then, first off, we'll be focusing on your muscle training.."

* * *

It took only a few minutes of conversation for their meeting to end. Chris was direct to the point and Naoki accepted his criticisms and advises in stride. He gave Naoki her training menu before dismissing her.

"Tomorrow, I'd like to catch your pitches, Fujioka-san" Chris said after handing a scroll to Naoki. She nods her head as she accepts it. Curious, Naoki took a peek at its contents and found, to her surprise, that all exercises are tailored to her unique physique. In other words, they are exercises that take into account her femininity.

"What's wrong?" Chris asks after noticing her surprised expression. Naoki smiled and shakes her head.

"I'm just surprised you're knowledgeable about this and had made a set specifically for me, Takigawa-senpai" Naoki said, her voice tinged with incredulity. Chris smiled softly.

"I want to help the team as much as I can as the manager, and even though you are not an official first string member, you are still part of Seido. Being a girl does not change that. Besides, I like doing these things." Chris stated all the while wearing his soft smile. Naoki gave him a smile, at ease of his presence. He almost feels like a big brother. Then, Naoki's eyes landed on his arms.

"Senpai, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your arm?" Naoki asks curiously as she remembers what Youichi told her a few nights ago. According to him, Chris fractured his arm because of too much practice.

"Ah, this?" Chris held his injured arm. From Naoki's view, his arm looks well and devoid of any evidence indicating he'd been injured. But she knows not all fatal injuries can be seen. Sometimes, a person can have an outward appearance of wellness but in reality, is bleeding inside.

"It was stupidity on my part why it happened" Chris answered softly, staring at his arm. His eyes lowered slightly, flashing in its depths is a pain Naoki knows all too well.

 _"_ _He's once just like me…lost in the past and in the prospect of the future"_ Naoki thought sadly, noticing the glimpse of sadness from Chris' face.

"Ne, senpai, have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?" Naoki asks as Chris straightened. She saw him muse quietly over her question and seems to be conflicted. Debating what to say to her, perhaps? Chris gave her a wan smile.

"Yes, yes, I have. I wanted to play baseball..but I can't"

* * *

 **-Sigh- I'm so glad I can update this week, although I can't guarantee I can continue this diligence in the next chapter. Honestly, with all the school work taking up most of my time, my interest in writing this one is taking a backseat. Not only that, I feel like I'm losing sight of my plot right now -or interest-. Oh well, guess I'll have to rewatch the anime huh? ^_^**

 **Anyway, do drop a review and share your thoughts with the progress of the story so far.**


	14. Chapter 13

Naoki tossed and turned in her bed, restless as the night deepened. She couldn't sleep. Her mind is still too full of words coming from Chris.

"Circumstances, huh?" she muttered in the darkness, her arms above her head while she stared into nothingness. Naoki yawned but still, she couldn't sleep. Her eyes are completely awake, not drooping a bit or giving a sign of tiredness. She turned to her side and saw a whitish patch not far from her bed. Naoki reached for it and lightly caressed the soft fur in her fingertips.

 _"_ _Yes, yes, I have. I wanted to play baseball..but I can't"_

Naoki closed her eyes.

 _"_ _Circumstances forced me not to play. I need to heal and I need to strengthen my body, that's why I can't play as I wished. What about you, Fujioka-san?"_

 _"_ _Ah, that's a hard one"_

 _"_ _It is easy to admit when you are at peace with the answer."_

Naoki opened her eyes.

"At peace, huh?"

 _"_ _I stopped playing baseball because my brother died."_ Naoki thought with a melancholic smile. _"That reason pales in comparison to yours, Chris-san"_

 _"_ _No one stopped you from playing. It was you that build the barrier"_ her mind whispered as she stares in the darkness, her thoughts, her only unwelcome companion. Naoki sat, giving up her intention to sleep. With the way her thoughts are currently turning to, she doubts she'll get any sleep. She raised her knees and hugged it to her chest, leaning her back on the cold wall and closing her eyes.

Naoko's death crippled her in more ways than one. Physically, she was well, but emotionally, she was not. She gave up playing baseball the days after she received the news and attended his funeral. When she thought of playing baseball again, she'd cry, feel a hurt so deep it had robbed her strength to live the next day. It's funny how she had tried to run away, yet here she is, desperately finding a way back to play.

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

"Yes" she softly whispers in the dark, her eyes opening. Naoki hears a rustle from the floor but she didn't look. Her head tilted to the side but she didn't take notice. Her eyes continue to stare into nothingness.

Baseball became a connection she shared exclusively with her twin, her other half, the other person at the end of the rope she holds tightly in her hands. But it was severed when he died, and Naoki suddenly found no one holding on the other side. She tried to forget she ever held that rope, slowly suffocating the her that existed as Naoko's twin. Slowly giving up the only connection that truly became their own. By coming to Seido, she'd been forced to face that connection in the field. Saw him, waiting in the other side, beckoning with his smile and seemingly pleading with his laughter, his joy, his love.

"Please, don't forget me"

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

"Yes" her words, this time, was uttered hoarsely, a lump in her throat forming as her chest constricts and her eyes burn.

Naoki wanted to find herself. Her love for baseball rekindling amidst the burning fire of Seido's players. Meeting Kazuya, Eijun and the others reminded Naoki the innocent delight of just merely throwing the ball, of being peeved as she stands on the mound, of seeing her ball fly into air after the batter hit it with his bat. The urge to play prompted her to desire the thrill in the baseball field. Now that everything is turning to give her the spotlight, Naoki finally realized the answer to that question.

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

She thought playing baseball was the answer but she's wrong. Playing baseball is something she wants to do, and she can do it. She only has to stop running and to face herself because officially or not, she can still play baseball. No one is stopping her and no one is forcing her to play. Her prisoner was her own mind, and now, she's free.

Free to do something she wants.

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

Yet, the answer to that question is still "Yes", Naoki brokenly whispered in a sob. Because now, now she realized.

 _"_ _It is easy to admit when you are at peace with the answer."_

That the real reason why such a question formed in her mind was because playing baseball forced her to face the sorrow in her heart, to hear the voice of longing deep in her soul and to find it crying for a presence she can never fill, for it is like the rope cut by fate and left to rot, it will never experience the same light again. Naoki cannot bring back something that is already lost. Or someone that is far from her reach.

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"_

Naoki's eyes closed and tears flowed. Her hands twitched atop her knees as droplets fell and trailed, but her lips remained sealed, still, a sob escapes, and her shoulders shook with the effort of holding it in. Naoki felt the mattress dip, heard Mamoru's soft whine. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her with his brown eyes. He nuzzled her knees and used his nose to burrow on her lap. She unfurled her knees without complaint, letting him settle and give her comfort.

"Naoko…" she whispers as she raises her hand and ran her fingers on her pet's fur. She slowly petted him while silent tears ran from her cheeks. Her body slowly relaxed, finding the comfort it needs. Naoki then found herself falling to her side, in an awkward angle she'd surely feel in the morning but too tired to even bother correcting. Her eyes, heavy with fatigue, closed.

 _Naoko's hand is high up in the air while the other is holding a bat. He was waving, donning his baseball uniform and a wide smile as he stands from the home plate. They are scheduled to go to Tokyo today for the Spring Nationals._

 _"_ _Goodbye, Naoki" he shouts. "Let's play again after we win in the Koshien!" Then, he turned his back._

"Goodbye, Naoko." She whispers, half-asleep.

 _"_ _I promise we'll play together….someday. Just..just don't be impatient, okay?"_ her last thought, saying her farewell to the longing that couldn't be fulfilled in this life. With that, darkness descended and pulled her to sleep.

* * *

"Ne, why is Fujioka-chan absent?"

Kazuya looked up from the score booklet he's reading and into two female faces. He blinks in confusion. The two were asking for Naoki. Wait, why are they asking him? _"I mean, I don't even know why she's absent today"_ he thought, squashing the sudden concern that fluttered in his system. Naoki looked fine yesterday, at least the last time he saw her. But maybe something bad happened? Kazuya's mouth settled in a fine line as he thought of Naoki. Seeing his expression, the girl on his right frowned at him while the other whispered in her ear, the two mistaking his expression as one of annoyance. The girl's face cleared in understanding after hearing what her friend said and she nodded.

"Sorry, Miyuki-kun. We shouldn't have asked. I guess it's hard to think about her when the two of you just broke up" the girl said sympathetically. Her other friend nodded in response. Kazuya blankly stared, shocked and a bit confused with their words. The two turned and started walking away when Kazuya snapped from his musings.

"Where did you hear that?" he asks as he stood. The two exchange glances. One of them nibbled her lips while the other tilted her head.

"Kuramochi-kun told us"

"Is that so" Kazuya scratched the back of his head as he stares at the floor. Of all the things Youichi could spread, why does it have to be that?

"Um..is it not true?" One of them asks worriedly.

"We are not in that kind of relationship" he said softly.

"Oh, ah. Sorry"

Kazuya watched them depart. He returned to his seat, the scorebook open and ready to be analyzed, yet he couldn't find himself to return to his previous activity, his mind occupied with something else, someone else.

Naoki.

In this current situation, Kazuya's mind should have been more taken with the knowledge that Youichi is spreading rumors, or if not, giving false information to others about Kazuya and Naoki's relationship but in this case, Kazuya couldn't care less. As much as he tries not to think about her, Naoki's well-being continues to plague him. He had noticed she was not present during morning practice; he also hadn't seen her during breakfast, both situations Kazuya shrugged off, albeit forcefully, because he reasoned with himself that he's not her keeper nor a close friend therefore, he doesn't have to worry about her. But worry about her, he did.

It was when the first period of class in the morning started and he didn't saw her enter, or heard her being scolded for her tardiness, that Kazuya felt restless, unbalanced, and really awkward. Suddenly, his back felt unguarded. This feeling is akin to that of leaning on a wall and then finding the next that it was gone. When the period ended with no Naoki in sight, Kazuya pulled the scorebook and read everything in it. It was the only thing he can do to stave off the desire to go out of the room, find her, and see what's wrong with her. Because Kazuya knows something happened, Naoki wouldn't be absent otherwise. It just that he didn't know _what_ , that is bothering him.

* * *

Naoki stared at her clock for the umpteenth time. She glances at Mamoru who was walking in circles in front of her. He stops and sat at the door, then turned his head with his tongue lolling to the side as he sent Naoki an expectant eye. Naoki returned her eyes back to the clock. The longer she stares at it the deeper the panic sets it.

She overslept.

Naoki winced and rubs her somewhat still sore and puffy eyes. She heard Mamoru yip at her at the door. She sighs, finally accepting that she missed school for sleeping almost the whole day. She scratches her arms and swallowed a saliva. Naoki inadvertently groans after feeling an ache when she swallowed and she pouted. Mamoru tilted his head, still not budging on his spot.

"…ai, h..ai" Naoki almost laughed at her voice. She sounds like a grandma the way she croaks the words. _"This always happens when I sleep after crying"_ she thought, clearing her throat as her hand grasps the knob. Mamoru's tail wags faster as she twisted the knob and he pushed his nose to the edge of the door after he saw a small light coming from it, looks like he's very excited to go out after being cooped for almost a day in her room.

 _"_ _Jeez, so impatient"_ she said to herself, giving Mamoru one last petting before he bounded outside after she fully opens the door. Naoki shielded her eyes as the glare of the noon sun shines brightly. She strained her eyes and found Mamoru sparkling on the other side. _"His fur is so blinding"_ she observes before shutting the door. Ensconced in the familiar darkness of her room, Naoki sighs, leaning her forehead to the door. Well, she missed school. There's no way she can go now being overly late as she is. Anyhow, she guesses she'll have to make use of her time by practicing.

 _"_ _But first, shower….and then this throat"_ she thought, rubbing her throat while on her way to the bathroom.

* * *

"Yo!" Youichi greets, walking up to Kazuya's seat. He was still reading the scorebook when Youichi stood in front of his desk. Youichi raised an eyebrow. Is it just him or is Kazuya really looks troubled? Then Youichi smirks. _"Oho, I think I know why"_ he thought with his signature laugh. Kazuya glances at him before returning his gaze back to the book. Honestly, the numbers hadn't been registering in his mind long before Youichi arrived. Oddly enough, he seems to focus more now that Youichi is standing in front of him. Having more than one distraction appears to be the formula for taking Naoki off his mind. Oh, which reminds him. Kazuya put his book down.

"Oi, are you a woman or something?" he asks casually, propping his cheek with his left hand as he stared at Youichi lazily.

"Huh? What are you yapping about, Miyuki?" Youichi growled, his mouth turning up in a sneer.

"Heh, I didn't know you swing in that direction Kuramochi" he smirks, "though I guess that's something where you're good at, aside from running of course. Among other else, you suck, that includes batting by the way" he ends with a cheeky laugh which further pissed Youichi off. He grabs Kazuya's collar, veins popping in his head as he glares at Kazuya.

"What's your problem, huh?" he uttered through gritted teeth, eyes flaring ominously. Kazuya gave a shrug, not the least bit intimidated and sent Youichi a grin. Youichi's brow twitched, losing his temperance in the face of Kazuya's shit-eating grin. His hold tightened and he started shaking Kazuya, much to the annoyance of their classmates.

"Ugh, they are at it again"

"Really, those two..tsk, tsk, tsk"

"I didn't do anything" Youichi growled while continuing to shake Kazuya. Kazuya's eyes flashed and suddenly, his visage turned serious.

"You didn't but your mouth sure can run miles" he said quietly and without vehemence. Youichi blinks and he pause from shaking Kazuya. The latter took Youichi's hand away from his collar and straightened it, then he turned his attention back to the book, reading quietly and losing his previous grin. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to regain his composure and he clenches his hands. Ah, he really doesn't like losing his temper. Meanwhile, Youichi stares dumbfounded at Kazuya. He doesn't understand the latter's words and he sure as hell doesn't get why he looks so mad right now. Unless…Youichi smirks as it finally dawned to him the source of Kazuya's sudden change of mood.

"Oho" Youichi grins, moving his face near Kazuya and while grinning, whispers, "It's about Naoki-chan, isn't it?" Kazuya sent him a dark look which prompted Youichi to grin even wider. Kazuya's mouth tilted upwards though Youichi can see in his eyes the flare of annoyance when he heard Youichi call Naoki by her first name.

 _"_ _Hehe, you can't hide anything from me, Miyuki"_ he thought, snickering. Before Kazuya can say his reply, Youichi muttered, "well, it's true, isn't it? That the two of you broke up." Kazuya laughed at him.

"Where did you get that? Is there something wrong with your brain? With the way you concluded Fujioka-chan and my relationship, I'm ashamed to conclude that you're no better than Sawamura" Kazuya said with a sigh which irritated Youichi to no end. Then, Kazuya laughed again, rubbing the back of his head.

"At least you can run fast so you're not totally useless" Kazuya ends with another laugh. But instead of it irritating Youichi further, a thought came to him.

"Miyuki, by any chance are you bothered I told them the two of you broke up?" Youichi asks seriously. Kazuya blinked.

"Huh?" Kazuya laughed again. "Of course not, it's just, it would be horrible if Fujioka hears about this especially when they are not true" he reasoned, chuckling in spite of Youichi's searing stare. Youichi is not convinced, not even the slightest but if that's the way Kazuya is going then he'll let it go. Youichi smirks.

"Eh, really? Well, my bad. I guess I misunderstood the situation. I mean, the two of you looked like you broke up with the way you guys are avoiding each other after being so chummy," Youichi said laughing as he remembers the times he had witnessed them switching to different routes so as not to bump into each other. Kazuya didn't laugh alongside him and instead, bowed his head. It would have been better if they hadn't been friends from the start. He wouldn't be feeling this way at all.

* * *

"Um, do you still have leftover food?" Naoki asks, peeking from the door of the dormitory's cafeteria. The middle-aged couple providing the food for the players turn from the sink. The man is holding a cabbage while the woman is grasping a spatula. They shared a look then beamed at her.

"Fujioka-san, we were worried since you didn't come this morning. It seems you overslept, eh?" the woman said, laughing as she put the spoon down and wiped her hand from a towel she hides inside the pocket of her apron. She walks to her and grasps her hand. Her husband gave Naoki a smile as he continues with his work. His wife tugged her hand and pulled her to a small table in the corner.

"Well, just sit there and we'll see what we can make up for you" she said with a motherly smile. Naoki smiled, relaxing in her seat. She thought she'd be scolded for going inside and asking for food but she wasn't, instead, she was greeted warmly and was shown to a seat. _"How nice"_ she thought, observing them as they work. She saw their deft hands roam around the counter and within a minute they scrapped a nice meal for her.

"Thank you and I apologize for the bother" she said, scratching her cheek shyly. The woman smiled in return and patted her head.

"It's not a problem. Making food no matter what the hour is our pleasure" she assured as she and her husband once again shared a glance.

"Um, this is embarrassing but I'm sorry, I don't know your name ma'am" Naoki said, a bit pink in the ears.

"Oh dear," the woman laughed "that's okay, we haven't been fully introduced, although we know you of course" she said, taking the seat beside Naoki and sat.

"I'm Choshi Hana, and over there is my husband, Choshi Saki" Hana introduced softly, pointing out her husband who gave Naoki a small smile and a nod before turning his back and returning to his work. Naoki stood and bowed to each of them from her spot.

"Nice to meet you, Choshi-san" she said and smiled.

"Thank you for the food" she added before returning to her seat and starting her meal. Hana stood and gave Naoki a smile. She patted Naoki's shoulder and quietly returned to the counter.

While eating, Naoki watched them as they work. The two looks like they are dancing the way they flitted here and there in the small room. Not only that, when they pass utensils around, they don't ask or utter a word, it's like the two are in sync with each other and knows what the other is thinking without saying a word, merely a fleeting look that says it all. As Naoki sees it, this small space that they made their domain sparkles with happiness and love, giving a feeling of warmth to any who enters. They looked so happy together. Contented.

 _"_ _Hmm, it would be nice to have such a relationship with someone"_ she thought and Kazuya's face came unbidden at the forefront of her mind. Naoki froze and then she blushed. She stared at her food, trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart. It took her minutes to cool herself down and when she finally sighed in relief, Naoki saw the side door of the kitchen is open. She looked around and found that she's all alone. Where did they go?

Naoki then hears laughter outside. Curious, she stood from her seat and peeks from the door.

"Oh!" she gasps and Hana twisted her head to look at her from her crouch position, a smile plastered on her face while her husband continues to pet Mamoru's white fur. Seeming to sense that his master is around, Mamoru raised his head from the bowl of food that the couple gave to him and barks at her happily.

"He's been coming here to eat lately" Hana explained, standing and coming up to her. "I apologize, we don't mean to harm him or anything, it's just that Saki is very fond of dogs."

"Ah, it's not a problem. I was surprised, that's all. Mamo, you see, rarely interacts with people he hadn't seen me with so it's really quite a shock to see him allowing someone to pet him and feeding him at the same time" Naoki said with a laugh.

"Maybe that's why he is getting fatter?" Naoki joked which earned her a laugh from Hana.

"Oh my, I hope not"

Naoki gazes at Mamoru. Looks like he found new friends here. She turned to Hana and bowed.

"Thank you for taking good care of him" Naoki said, smiling softly as she straightens and returned her stare back to the dog.

* * *

"Yosha!" Eijun shouted after changing to his baseball attire. He took a deep breath and then started running, leaving Haruichi behind who sighs, watching the dust Eijun left in his wake. Haruichi shook his head and took his wooden bat. Really, Eijun never slows down when it comes to practice.

 _"_ _First, I'll practice the four-seam, and then I'll ask Chris-senpai to catch for me. But I don't think he'll accept though"_ Eijun thought in the middle of running to his practice spot. He shook his head _"No, no, no. I've been doing well, I think, so I might get a chance of pitching later on and then I'll show that Furuya my new and powerful pitch"_ he laughed loudly which earned him weird glances from the people he passes by.

"You watch out, Furuya" he grins and boosts his run even further. Although it's quite boring to pitch against a net.

"Grryaaah!" Eijun shouted as he runs.

He must persevere. He must persevere. He must—

"Eh?" Eijun halted mid-run, his knee still up in the air and his arms frozen from their swinging. He had arrived at his spot but there's an unusual sight before him. Instead of the usual one net, there are two and the other is beside his. Now, that wouldn't really entitle a shocked response but in Eijun's case what made him speechless was the site of Naoki.

"Oh, Sawamura-kun, you're here. I hope you don't mind sharing this spot with me" Naoki greeted with a smile, her hand holding a ball and spinning it on the said hand.

"Fu-fujioka-senpai, why are you here?" Eijun asks, mechanically nearing Naoki.

"Starting from this day, Fujioka will be training alongside you, Sawamura" Chris said as he enters with Rei following closely behind him.

"Eh? Really? I thought only the first year pitchers are training under Chris-senpai," Eijun muttered then he lightened up. _"Could this be a training for aces? That would explain Fujioka-senpai's appearance but that also means I'm training too? Wait, there's still Furuya. Grr.."_ Throughout it all and unbeknownst to Eijun, his facial expressions change with his thoughts and, witnessing it, Naoki quietly chuckles at the play of emotions, shaking her head at Eijun's openness.

 _"_ _I wish I can be that open"_ she quietly mused, then her eyes lowered, wearing a nostalgic look. It took a lot of time but she finally admitted to herself the reason for her longing and in doing so, she cried. As the dam of tears descended last night. Naoki finally felt at peace, it's as if she's stepping in this new path of her life without any guilt, without any shackles to hold her back.

It was a final goodbye.

"Fujioka-senpai, are you okay?"

Naoki snaps from her thoughts with Eijun's inquiry. Her eyes landed on Eijun's worried gaze, held it for a second, then turned her head to stare up the sky. So blue and wide. It was refreshing to see small clouds passing by and the harsh rays of the sun far from her line of sight.

It was beautiful.

Naoki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled and with a smile, turned to Eijun.

"Never been better"


	15. Hiatus

Dear readers,

First and foremost, I apologize for not updating for a month now and probably for dashing your hopes for a new chapter. Sad to say, I am informing you that I'll be putting this on _ **Hiatus**_. I know I've said -so many times- that Game Changer will be completed and I swear I am planning to but due to my course and my schedule, I cannot manage to lend a small time for both of my works. The only resolution for the matter is to choose one and out of the two, Indicium -my other work- is currently at a critical part of plot development and for that, I've chosen to focus on it as I deemed Game Changer to be still in its beginning stages. That doesn't mean I will abandon working on it altogether while doing Indicium. The good news is, starting next week will be the start of our school break which means 24/7 of free time and free time equals to writing sessions. So, I might be able to continue Game Changer's plot although I cannot guarantee that I will post it here as I've stated that my priority will be on Indicium.

Second, I'd like to thank those people who have given time to review this work, narutolover10110, Misaki Younna, i love athrun , xGuiltyXGigglesx03, Xellopon, sayume214, daiya, and others that chose to remain anonymous, thank you so much! Thank you also for those who followed and favorited Game Changer. I am deeply sorry for disappointing you like this as I also know firsthand how it is like to wait patiently for an update and then being notified of the hiatus news or even worst, 'i-will-not-finish' news. One thing is for sure, I will endeavor to make this work a success.

Thank you for all the support.

Love,

NaoChi-chu

P.S. This is not a goodbye


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